


A June Wedding

by memorizingthedigitsofpi



Series: A June Wedding [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Comedy, F/M, Fake Dating, Fluff, Sci-Ops Era (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), and no matter how smart FitzSimmons may be, mothers are devious, they will never outsmart their mums
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2016-01-14
Packaged: 2018-05-01 21:27:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 45,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5221412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/memorizingthedigitsofpi/pseuds/memorizingthedigitsofpi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are roughly one million things that Jemma would rather do than go to her cousin Laura's wedding, but her mother won't take no for an answer. At least Fitz is along for the ride.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [recoveringrabbit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/recoveringrabbit/gifts).



"Yes, Mum... Yes, Mum... _Yes_ , Mum," Jemma pursed her lips together and raised her eyebrows. She was trying to keep the frustration out of her voice, but it was getting increasingly difficult. " _Alright_ ," she agreed, practically at her wits' end.

"Hey, Simm-" Fitz stopped short as he entered her office. "Sorry!" he mouthed, starting to back out of the door again when he noticed she was on the phone.

"Fitz!" Jemma practically shouted, her relief washing over her as she saw her chance to escape. She waved him back into her office and then spoke into her phone again.

"Sorry, Mum, but Fitz needs me." Her eyes flicked up to look at him. "Uh huh," she said noncommittally, looking away quickly. "Mmm," she agreed, biting her lower lip and curling her hair behind her ear. "Oh, I don't think that-" she shook her head with an awkward smile that was cut off into a gulp. "But Mum-" she glanced at Fitz again. " _Mum!_ " she gasped, and her cheeks reddened. "I'm hanging up now, Mother!" she warned. She listening for another moment and nodded, then smiled with a sigh. "I love you too," she admitted fondly. "Love to Dad!"

Fitz watched the exchange with a commiserating look on his face. Honestly, his own conversations with his mother tended to be rather similar in both scope and sequence. "Why can't you work for a S.H.I.E.L.D. office back in England?" he asked, guessing the source of tension in the conversation. It was the most common argument she had with her parents, so the odds were in his favour.

"Worse," Jemma chuckled and smiled wryly. "Family wedding."

They both shuddered simultaneously.

"Whose?" Fitz asked, sympathetically. He'd had to go to his uncle's wedding two years before, and he still occasionally cringed at the sheer amount of cheek-pinching that had been involved.

"My cousin Laura's," Jemma answered, straightening her already neat desk. She was avoiding looking at Fitz and trying to find a way out of her mother's rather pointed instructions.

Fitz wandered further into her office and sat in his usual chair at the side of her desk. He picked up one of the fidget toys she kept there and started playing with it absently. "Think you can get out of it?" he asked.

Jemma blew out a humourless breath. " _Not_ according to my mother," she said, shaking her head with feeling. She looked at him from the corner of her eye and then quickly refocused on centering her keyboard on her blotter.

Fitz sighed and shrugged. "Maybe you'll get put on special assignment and not be able to go?" he suggested, trying to boost her spirits.

She grinned at that, finally turning in her seat and looking at him fully. "She's thought of that, unfortunately," Jemma confessed. "Probably because that's what happened the last three family events." She managed to look appropriately guilty as Fitz laughed. "It's not that I don't want to go home!" she explained hurriedly, not wanting him to get the wrong impression.

"I know," Fitz nodded, still smiling. "You just don't want to have to deal with the _entire_ family when you're there."

Her shoulders sagged back into relaxation. "Exactly," she said. That was the great thing about Fitz. He always understood.

"So what do you mean she's thought of it?" he asked, frowning as he tried to unstick his fingers from the tangle he'd made of her desk toy.

"Well," Jemma blushed and tucked her hair behind her ears again. She turned away from him and went back to organizing her already-perfect files. "As it turns out," she continued hesitantly, "The wedding is this weekend."

Fitz barked out a laugh. "Can't exactly expect you to go home for _that,_ now can she?" he asked, tugging the somehow-tightening rings and only succeeding in getting himself further trapped.

"Actually," Jemma said weakly as fiddled with her own ring. "She's bought us tickets." Once more she peaked at him in her peripheral vision, wondering if he'd noticed her pronoun choice.

"Did she also buy you a time machine?" Fitz asked sardonically, looking at her and silently holding out his hands for her help. "Because that's the only way you'll manage to fly to England, go to a wedding, and make it back in one weekend."

Jemma swallowed awkwardly and concentrated on pulling this way and that to untangle him. "She's also arranged for us to have the week off work," she said, not looking at his face.

"How'd she manage that?" Fitz asked. "Ow!" he sucked in a breath as he was hit by an errant ricochet of plastic. "Watch it!"

"Sit still!" Jemma admonished him. This whole situation was just ridiculous. "Actually it was _your_ mum who did most of the talking," she said, almost accusingly.

" _My-_?" Fitz's mouth dropped open in shock and suddenly he wasn't worried about his trapped fingers anymore. "What's _my_ mum got to do with _your_ cousin's wedding?"

" _Apparently,_ " Jemma explained with a fair bit of irritation. "Our mothers have decided that we don't visit enough, and they've taken this wedding as an excuse to get us to come."

"They can _do_ that?" Fitz asked, his voice a harsh whisper.

Jemma's computer beeped and she turned to read her new email. It was from their lead agent, informing them that their vacation requests had been approved.

"It appears they _can._ "


	2. Chapter 2

Emmaline Simmons brewed the tea as Geraldine Fitz arranged some shortbread biscuits on a plate.

"Must be nice," Geri sighed with a fond smile and a raised brow.

"What's that?" Emma asked, distractedly rooting through a cupboard for more sugar cubes. "I know I bought more of the ruddy things, now where are they?"

Geri picked up a biscuit and broke off a bite. "Having a child who answers the bloody phone." She loved Fitz dearly, as only a mother can, but his tendency to let his phone go to voicemail drove her batty.

"Ha!" Emma scoffed. "That's the third time I called her, though." She slid a box of soda biscuits to the side and found her prize. "Aha! There we are!" She turned around and raised the sugar triumphantly. "I _knew_ I had some."

Geri grinned and popped the rest of the cookie into her mouth, brushing the crumbs off her fingers with some kitchen towel. " _Right_ ," she started efficiently, sitting down at the Simmons' kitchen table and pouring out the tea. "Now to see if I can get _my_ genius on the phone."

A few quick taps on her iphone screen, and the kitchen filled with the sounds of ringing. They probably _shouldn't_ be making these calls on speakerphone without letting the kids know, but really. They were going to be telling each other the full transcripts _anyway_ , and this was much more efficient.

In an almost unprecedented one and a half rings, Fitz picked up the phone.

"Mum?"

"Oh, so you _can_ answer the phone then, can you?" Geri winked at Emma who covered her mouth to muffle her snort.

"Mum!" Fitz sounded completely horrified. Geri took a certain amount of satisfaction in that. " _What_ the  _hell_ have you been doing?"

Geri immediately adopted her most put upon tone of voice. "A poor, old mother can't pull a few strings to see her _only son_?" She contemplated adding a sniffle, but decided that might be a bit much.

" _Mum_!" She could almost _see_ him turn red. "You _can't_ just-"

"I _can_ , and I _did_ ," she said firmly, exchanging a decisive nod with Emma. "And I'll take it as a kindness if you'll not raise your voice to me, young man." She winked at Emma and took a sip of tea. Fitz was a good boy, but she wasn't above taking him down a peg or two when he got uppity.

"Sorry, Mum," Fitz mumbled, and if he wasn't looking down with a hand on his hip and a toe scuffing the floor, then she wasn't the Member of Scottish Parliament for Dundee City East.

"No harm done, my lad," she said airily. "And as long as you give me a proper hug and a kiss when you get here, we'll call it all even, right?"

"Yeah, _about_ that," Fitz started, and she could practically _hear_ his head popping back up and his eyebrows closing in together.

"Make sure you pack a nice suit for the wedding, and don't forget your toothbrush or your pants." She'd been reminding him of those necessities since he'd packed his first bag for an overnight at his friend's house when he was seven, but since he always seemed to forget them she'd never stopped telling him to bring them.

"Why'm _I_ going to the wedding?" Fitz asked. "And how come _you're_ going?"

Geri shook her head and sighed. It was too much to hope that Jemma had followed _all_ of the instructions Emma had given her. This was why Geri was making the follow-up phone call. " _I'm_ attending because poor Emma is at her wits' end, dealing with the family," she explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "And _you're_ Jemma's _date_ , of course." She couldn't stop smiling at the surprised noise that came through the phone. "Didn't she tell you?" Emma flashed her a mischievous grin which she returned with relish. "I'm almost _certain_ Emma explained it all to her," she continued, her voice positively dripping with innocent confusion.

"Explained _what_ all?" Fitz asked, and from the slightly muffled quality of his voice, she guessed he was now rubbing a hand along his face.

"And what sort of trouble are you girls getting up to now?" Jeremy Simmons asked, smiling broadly as he entered the kitchen in search of a snack. "Taking over the world?"

"Sorry Leo!" Geri said, hurriedly taking the phone off speaker. "Jezza's here now, and I'm being terribly rude to Emma talking on the phone like this. Jemma can explain the whole thing, alright? Must go! Love you! Ta!" She hung up quickly and then shared a wicked look with her friend.

Jeremy looked from one woman to the other, taking in their shared expressions, and squinted slightly. He'd seen those looks a number of times before. "Do I want to know?" he asked.

"Perhaps not _just_ yet," Emma said sweetly, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek. "But soon."


	3. Chapter 3

Fitz squirmed sideways in the uncomfortable airline seat and squinted at Simmons as she read her novel. His brows drew together and his jaw clenched in his intensity. 

Jemma blew out an impatient breath that moved her fringe on her forehead, and she glanced up from her book to stare at the seatback in front of her. "Yes?" she asked in the annoyed tone of someone who has already explained something four times and doesn't want to explain it again. 

"So let me see if I understand this," Fitz said, his expression full of concentrated mental effort. 

Jemma groaned and dropped her head to her chest, closing her eyes in resignation.

"Your aunt-" Fitz began. _  
_

"Grandmother," Jemma interrupted. She raised her head and sighed. Maybe the  _fifth_ time would do the trick.

"- _Grandmother_ ," he continued, "Has been pestering your  _mother_?" Here, he raised his eyebrows and quirked his mouth, looking for confirmation.

" _Yes,_ " Jemma sighed, folding her hands on her lap and turning toward him. She waited expectantly for him to continue. Apparently, he couldn't understand it when  _she_ explained it, so maybe he'd do better listening to himself. 

Here Fitz frowned again. This was the sticking point. "Because  _you_  don't have a boyfriend?" He was just so totally baffled by why that would be at all interesting or controversial. 

"That's right," Jemma nodded firmly. Her mouth pressed into a tight line as she tried to keep her temper in check. Honestly, as if her value as a human being were dependent upon whether or not she were romantically involved with someone else!

"And because your  _grandmother_ wants your  _mother_ to set  _you_ up on a date...?" he trailed off, bowing his head slightly and looking at her from under his lashes as if waiting for her to finish his sentence for him. The whole thing was just so ridiculous, he felt like he needed outside sources.

"Yes?" Jemma asked, brushing some imagined dust off the cover of her book. She knew she was blushing, and she tried to will her cheeks back to their normal colour.

Fitz rubbed the creases in his forehead, still trying to logic his way through something that made absolutely zero sense to him. "...Your _mum_ is flying the both of us over to England to make your _grandmother_ think that you're dating  _me?_ " he concluded. He was pretty sure he had all of the  _steps_ correct, but he really didn't understand how any of it fit together at all. How did her grandmother even know he existed?

"Mmhmm," Jemma nodded, pressing her lips together and really hoping that the conversation would end now. They'd been over it so many times in the past two days that she really didn't see how rehashing it now, three hours into their flight, would make it any clearer to him. 

Or to her, to be fair. 

"But-"

"Just think of it as a trip  _home_ , Fitz!" Jemma pleaded in exasperation.

"But I'm not  _going_ home," he argued back, just as irritated. "I'm going to bloody  _Sheffield_ to a bloody  _wedding_ full of  _your_  bloody relatives!" By the end of his sentence, he was waving his hands around, and he accidentally hit the call button for the flight attendant.  _  
_

"Is there a problem sir?" asked the handsome young man in the British Airways uniform.

" _Yes!_ " Fitz half-shouted at the same time that Jemma said, "No!" and grabbed his hands to settle them.

The steward looked taken aback as he glanced from one to the other of them. 

"He has  _problems,_ " Jemma explained sweetly, batting her eyelashes innocently. "But none that you can help him with," she clarified.

"You've made it sound like I should be in a loony bin!" Fitz protested, shaking off her grip but keeping his hands under control.

"Well..." Jemma grinned impishly. 

The flight attendant looked between them again, this time with a knowing expression. "Would you care for a drink, sir?" he asked politely. 

"A snack, if you have some," Jemma requested. The last thing she needed right now was for Fitz to get inebriated. "I think his blood sugar's a little low," she whispered. 

"Of course!" the flight attendant immediately hurried off to find some biscuits.

"Blood sugar?" Fitz asked. 

"If he thinks you're diabetic, you won't have to pay for it," Jemma explained. 

Fitz chuckled. "Seems as if you've a family talent for manipulation."

"Like your family's any better!" Jemma scoffed with a smile. "As I recall it wasn't  _my_ mother who convinced a Level 6 S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to give us a week's vacation without notice."

Fitz shook his head in wonder at the juggernaut who was his mother. "She can talk  _anyone_ into  _anything_."

"... Except you into visiting," Jemma teased. 

Fitz blushed and twisted his hands in his lap. "It's not that I don't  _want_ to visit," he said awkwardly. "It's just..." he trailed off and looked at her helplessly. 

"I know," she nodded in understanding. "It's just that work keeps us so busy that time sort of gets away from you."

"Exactly." That was the great thing about Simmons. She always understood.

"Here you are, sir" the steward returned, holding out a packet of biscuits to Fitz. "I apologize, but we didn't have a note of your dietary restrictions on our manifest." He looked properly apologetic. "We do have an additional vegan meal, however, if that will do in place of a diabetic one?" Here he looked from Fitz to Simmons, waiting for instructions.

Fitz opened his mouth to tell him  _exactly_ how unnecessary that would but, but Simmons jumped in before he was able to.

"Oh, that'd do _nicely_!" she said, all syrupy sweetness, like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. "That's so  _kind_ of you to offer!"

Fitz turned to her, his face a thundercloud, but the steward was already leaving. 

"Why the  _hell_ did you do that?" he asked, already working himself up to another outburst.

Jemma resettled in her seat and picked up her book again. "Be quiet and let me read my book, and you can have  _my_ dinner," she offered. "But bother me _one more time_ , and it's tofu for you."

Fitz stared at her for a moment with his mouth still poised to rant, and then he closed it shut with a snap.

"Excellent," Jemma said happily, settling down to read for the rest of the flight.


	4. Chapter 4

" _There's_ my brightest star in the sky," Jezza greeted his daughter fondly, arms open for a hug as they spotted each other at the baggage pickup. He folded her up in his large woolly jumper, and Jemma smiled as she breathed in the familiar scent of bar soap and pencil shavings. 

"Hi Dad," she murmured into his soft chest. Then she leaned up on her tiptoes without releasing him and kissed his bearded cheek. "You've stopped shaving again," she observed. 

Jezza scratched a hand along one fuzzy cheek as he bent his head down for her to reach. "Yes, well, your mother's in the midst of another big research project at the moment, so I thought I'd take advantage of the distraction," he grinned. 

"You look like a bear," Jemma grinned back, finally releasing him and stepping back. 

"Teddy bear, that is," he corrected her. Then he turned an outstretched hand toward Fitz who had finished piling their bags on a luggage cart. "And how are  _you_ , my lad?" he asked, looking him up and down. "You've been growing!"

Fitz blushed and tried not to look pleased. "Just an inch or two," he shrugged, bouncing on his toes slightly. 

Jezza enfolded each of them under one burly arm. "Right then," he said with a smile and a firm nod. " _Home_." Giving them each a squeeze, he released them and grabbed the luggage trolley, overriding their protests. "No no," he insisted. "You've had a long flight, and I won't have you lugging your bags around, even in a cart." He peered down his nose at them from his towering height and adopted a frown that fooled no one. "Don't make me get angry," he warned. Then he winked impishly. 

"Oh, _Dad_ ," Jemma smiled, rolling her eyes and looping her arm through his. 

"Now, how was the flight?" Jezza asked, squinting up at the signs above them in order to find the car park again. He hated how labyrinthian these modern airports could be. 

Fitz and Jemma peered around his slightly rotund belly to look at each other and then leaned back again. 

"Fine."

"Nothing amiss," they answered together. 

"Very good, very good," Jezza nodded, distractedly. "I believe it's  _this_ way," he pointed. 

"Um, Mr. Simmons?" Fitz asked, an apologetic look on his face.

" _Jezza_ , Fitz. How many times do I have to tell you?"

"Right, um, Jezza," Fitz said awkwardly, not looking at Jemma when he said it. "I think the car park's that way?" he pointed in the opposite direction to a large white P on a backdrop of blue. 

"Ah," Jezza nodded vaguely. Then he blinked and focused more carefully. "Right!" he said brightly. "Sorry! Just realized how to solve the problem I was having with the array last night." He smiled broadly, white teeth flashing in ginger beard. "Actually, Fitz," he continued, face lighting up with realization. "You'd be  _just_ the man to help me with it!" He clapped a large hand down on Fitz's shoulder.

Fitz staggered slightly under the blow and looked up at Jezza in surprise. "Really?" he asked, clearly enthused. " _Me_? At the _Jodrell Bank_?"

"Well, I can't very well bring the array to you in Sheffield, now can I?" Jezza chuckled, a soothing deep rumble emanating from his chest.

"Brilliant," Fitz whispered, his eyes unfocused on the horizon. 

Jemma shook her head and laughed softly. The two of them were always thick as thieves when Fitz visited. She'd probably barely see either of them all day tomorrow, now. "We  _are_ here for a holiday, Dad," she gently chided him.

Jezza bowed his head like a boy being scolded by his mum. "Sorry, starshine," he apologized. 

"Does that mean I can't go?" Fitz asked, crestfallen. 

Jemma sighed and smiled fondly at them, both of them giving her pleading looks like children begging for sweets. " _Fine,_ " she conceded, throwing her hands up in mock frustration. "But if you're late for supper tomorrow, don't expect  _me_ to argue with mum about waiting."

"Thank you, darling," Jezza hugged her with his right arm and kissed her on the top of her head. 

"Thanks, Simmons," Fitz grinned. "You're the best."

"Of course," Jemma continued as a thought occurred to her. " _Fitz's_ mum might have something to say about that."

Fitz and Jezza exchanged a look, the smiles slowly ebbing from their faces. Geri almost certainly  _would_ have something to say about that. 

"Right," Jezza said, a bit more uncertainly than usual. "Well," he hedged. "Indeed." He frowned for a moment, but then cleared his throat and smiled. "Anyway, you're here now and there's the car. We'll figure the rest of it later, yes?"

Jemma tried to hide her smirk as they loaded up the boot. She couldn't _wait_ to get home now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Jodrell Bank](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jodrell_Bank_Observatory) is an Observatory, and I've cast Jemma's dad as an astronomer :D


	5. Chapter 5

"Emma!" Geri whispered harshly from her perch at the front window. "Put it away!" she waved frantically. "They're here!" She quickly patted her dark brown bun to make sure her hair wasn't mussed and smoothed down her blouse where it was tucked into her jeans. She knew her son worried about her, living as she was all on her own, and she didn't want to give him any extra reason to.

Emma hurriedly closed her laptop and shoved it under a newspaper. She added her half-full coffee cup and a pen, too, just in case. Better safe than sorry. "How do they look?" she asked, rushing over to Geri's side and peering between the living room curtains with her as she pulled her light brown curls into a mass at the back of her head. She looked around for an elastic and smiled gratefully to Geri as her friend held one out to her.

"Half asleep," Geri said dryly. "They _have_ just flown in from America, remember?"

"Oh hush," Emma slapped her on gently on the shoulder and rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean!"

"You didn't tell Jezza the plan did you?" Geri asked suspiciously for the tenth time. It would be just like Emma to let something slip while she was thinking about work. Whether or not Jezza actually picked up on it... Well, that depended what _he_ was working on at the time.

"For the last time, _no_ ,"Emma insisted. "The man's a love, but he couldn't keep a secret if his _life_ depended on it." Looking down, she realized she still had her apron tied around her waist and she hurriedly untied it and tossed it behind the wingback chair she'd been kneeling on to look out the window.

"It's not _his_ life I'm worried about," Geri mumbled as the front door opened.

Both women turned simultaneously and smiled broadly at their children, arms open for hugs.

"Jemma!" Emma practically shouted. She had difficulty modulating her tone when she was feeling nervous or excited. Or guilty. She quickly pulled her daughter down for a hug.

"Leo!" Geri exclaimed, enjoying the sour look that caused. He deserved it, for not answering her phone calls.

Fitz pressed his lips together to stop his usual quick correction and instead hugged his mother tight. "Mum," he greeted her, giving her a boisterous kiss on the cheek. "Now what's all this-?"

"And Jemma!" Geri interrupted him. Jemma finished hugging her mother hello and stepped into Geri's warm embrace.

"Geri," she said fondly. "So _good_ to see you again."

"It's been too long, girl," Geri admonished her. Then she turned and glared at Fitz. " _Far_ too long."

"Sorry Mum," Fitz muttered at the same time Jemma said, "I'm sorry, Geri."

"Chin up, Fitz," Emma said, using her index finger to help him follow directions. "You're mother's just peevish because of all of this wedding nonsense going on." She folded Fitz in a hug and ruffled his hair. "I'll calm her down again while you two bring your bags upstairs."

"Oh, I've got the bags, Emmy," Jezza insisted, leaning down and kissing his wife hello. "It's been a while since I last showed you a feat of strength," he winked and pinched her bottom.

Emma yelped and pretended to be scandalized. "Jezza!" she gasped. "Not in front of the children!" She looked over to where Jemma was heaving a long-suffering sigh and Fitz was trying hard not to blush. Standing up on her tiptoes so she could pull him down again, she whispered. "Save it for later," and gave him a wink of his own.

"Right!" he grinned broadly, hefting a bag in each hand. "Fitz, you want to get the others?"

"Dad!" Jemma protested. "I'm perfectly capable of-"

"I know, Moonbeam," he said soothingly. "But Fitz wasn't finished explaining about that adamantium alloy yet, and we don't want to bore you all to tears with our shop talk."

"That'll be a first," Geri said wryly. As the only non-scientist in the room, 'bored with shop talk' was usually her default state at these little reunions.

"Since Evelyn's going to be in the guest room, where are we putting Fitz?" Jezza asked, one foot on the bottom stair.

"He's in with Jemma, dear," Emma answer, waving a hand airily. "And don't be forever, I've got supper all ready to go and it'll be cold if the two of you get talking and lose track of time."

"Right," Jezza nodded and started up the stairs. He stopped after three steps. "With Jemma?" he asked, turning back to his wife with a frown.

"Yes," Emma and Geri answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Mum-" Jemma started. Her head tilted to the side as she prepared herself for an argument.

"I don't-" Fitz was shaking his head from side to side and staring at Jezza with wide, fearful eyes.

"Oh shut it, the lot of you," Geri said impatiently. "Leo, Jezza, do as you're told. Jemma, hang up your coat and get in the kitchen. Emma, check to make sure you haven't left anything off of the table." She nodded firmly as everyone jumped at her orders. "And _I'm_ going to get myself a drink."


	6. Chapter 6

Fitz flung one arm above his head and rested the other one on his stomach, staring at the ceiling of Simmons's bedroom. Supper had been... interesting. Much as he and Jemma had tried, their mums wouldn't budge on the issue of them pretending to be a couple. It still didn't make much sense to him, and Jezza had been at least as puzzled as he was.

Simmons had been pretty tight-lipped about the whole thing, which really wasn't like her. Biting his lip, he looked over at her.

"Simmons?" he whispered, not sure if she were still awake.

"You should really start calling me Jemma, Fitz," she sighed. "If we're going to convince anyone at all that we're a couple." She blew out another breath and rolled onto her side, facing him. "I really _am_ sorry about all of this," she apologized. It had been bad enough when it was just _her_ mum, but to bring in Geri as well? If it were possible to _die_ of embarrassment, she'd be in a morgue right now.

Fitz rolled onto his side so they could look at each other properly. "Can I ask you something?" he asked, a bit hesitantly. He'd wanted to ask all evening, but it was somehow easier now that they were in the dark and he could only just see her face.

Jemma took in a deep breath, dreading any possible questions he might ask. But still, it was Fitz. "Of course," she said, biting her lip and looking worried.

"It's just..." Fitz frowned, trying to find the right words. "You haven't seemed very... surprised?" He squinted a bit, not entirely sure that was the right way to describe it. "I mean, your mum was saying all sorts of things about us being, y'know, _together_ and none of it seemed... new? To you?" He was cringing, waiting for her reaction, but he really needed to know he wasn't imagining things. He knew _he'd_ been pretty gobsmacked by some of the things their mums had suggested, but either Simmons, _Jemma_ , had a much better poker face than he'd suspected or something else was going on.

Jemma sighed and rubbed a hand across her face. It had been too much to hope that her mum could be subtle enough that Fitz wouldn't notice. "That's probably because none of it really was?" she said, her expression apologetic. "I'm sorry, Fitz," she continued. "But my Mum's been saying that sort of thing to me ever since I started talking about you back at the Academy." Because apparently it's impossible to be friends with a boy without dating him. Honestly.

Fitz blinked in surprise. "Really?" he asked, unsure of how to react. Emma wanted Simmons and him to... "Wow."

Jemma nodded, mouth quirked wryly. "She's always asking me whether or not you're dating someone, and when I say no she tells me to ask you out, myself," she laughed.

Fitz blinked and gulped. "Always?" he asked. He knew how often Simmons spoke to her parents, so she must get this sort of prompting pretty frequently.

"And she goes on and on about how handsome you are, and how brilliant," Jemma continued, unable to stop herself now that she was letting it all out. "And how much she and Dad love you, and how I won't find another one as good as you any time soon, and how I should make sure you don't get awaya."

Fitz's ears seemed to be ringing and he was having a bit of difficulty breathing. "She says..."

"That you'd be the perfect son-in-law," Jemma finished for him.

Fitz gulped, his eyes wide and shocked.

"Don't worry," Jemma smiled. "I've told her in no uncertain terms that you're not interested." She took in another deep breath and continued, "But I'm pretty sure this wedding is her way of making us try it on, anyway."

"Try it..." Fitz swallowed hard once more. Trying it on with Simmons. He tried to imagine that for a moment and failed completely. It wasn't that she wasn't extremely desirable, any fool could see that she was. It was just the idea of _them_. _Together_. "Weird," he frowned.

"Right?" Jemma laughed, rolling back onto her back. "Anyway, we can pretend for the wedding and let my mother see for herself that it won't work, and maybe then she'll stop bothering me about it."

Fitz couldn't help snorting as he rolled onto his own back and stared at her ceiling again.

"What?" Jemma asked, a bit annoyed.

"Sorry," Fitz chuckled, "It's just that _my_ Mum's in on it now, too, and _she_ doesn't give up that easily." He sighed, thinking about how all future conversations with his mother would have a component of why-don't-you-date-Simmons to them. He might have to stop answering her calls altogether.

"Ugh," Jemma moaned in agreement. "What is it about mothers that makes them want to play matchmaker?" she asked rhetorically.

"I don't know, but I wish they wouldn't," Fitz griped. "I mean, I've better things to think about with my time than dating."

"Right?" Jemma agreed emphatically. "It's a _complete_ waste of mental effort."

"And a boring topic of conversation!"

"Oh, you don't even _know_ yet!" Jemma rolled toward him again. "Sometimes it's the only thing she wants to talk about! For hours!"

"Hours?" Fitz turned back toward her in horror.

"Well, that's how it seems to me," Jemma revised. "It might just be ten minutes, but it feels _interminable_ while it's happening."

"Ugh," Fitz nodded. "I can imagine."

"Pretty soon you won't have to," Jemma sighed.

They both rolled back onto their backs and heaved out matching sighs as they stared at the ceiling.

After a few minutes, Fitz turned his head to look at her again. He had an idea, but he wasn't sure how she'd react to it.

"Unless..." he started, voice rising to indicate he'd continue if she wanted to hear it.

"Yes?" she said, turning her head to him.

"I mean, it's just an idea," he said dismissively, looking back at the ceiling.

"Tell me!" Jemma insisted, rolling onto her side once more. " _Any_ idea is worth listening to."

Fitz rolled onto his again, too, and tried to keep his excitement down. "What if we give them what they want?" he suggested.

"What do you mean?" Jemma asked, frowning for a moment. "You mean..." her brows rose as she realized what he was getting at. "You think we should," she waggled a finger from herself to him and back again.

Fitz shrugged and looked down. "If they think we're dating for _real_ , they'll stop trying to set us up, right?"

Jemma blinked. "Hmm," she considered.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"It's got possibilities," she answered thoughtfully. "I like using their own trick against them, too." She grinned mischievously at him.

He returned her grin. "So, think we should?"

"Worth a try?"


	7. Chapter 7

"Emma," Jezza said seriously as he flipped a crepe in the pan. "I know for a  _fact_ that your mother doesn't care a whit that Jemma isn't dating anyone. She's quite proud of her accomplishments and isn't in any hurry to be a great-grandmother." Carefully removing the crepe to a plate, he folded it just so and sprinkled it with confectioner's sugar before adding some strawberries and cream. 

"Hmm," Emma nodded vaguely, neither confirming nor denying. Grabbing the plate, she stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek. 

Jezza leaned down so that his tiny wife could reach and continued talking. "So why on earth are you telling the children that they need to act like a couple for _her_ benefit?" He wiped his hands on the pink gingham apron tied round his waist and poured another crepe into the pan. 

"Because Jemma won't listen to sense," Emma said matter-of-factly. 

"And Leo is just hopeless," Geri pitched in, pouring orange juice into everyone's cups. "If we waited for them to get together on their own, we'd all be a decade older and half-bald from pulling our hair out."

Jezza garnished another crepe and bit the inside of his cheek. "But what if they don't  _want_ to get together?" he asked. Sometimes his wife could go full steam ahead on an idea without fully exploring the repercussions, and Geri was as least as bad if not worse. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to be very convincing as the voice of reason. Maybe it was the apron.

"Shh," Emma warned as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. "I'll show you my research later."

"Research?" Jezza asked, confused. But he didn't get any response because Jemma and Fitz entered the kitchen and the conversation turned to other topics. 

 

* * *

 

"Can't I  _please_ go to the Observatory with Dad and Fitz?" Jemma begged her mother as she finished up her breakfast. It was definitely the better of the available options. 

"No, Jemma," Emma refused in the tone that would brook no argument. "Your grandmother is arriving today, and you haven't seen her in nearly two years." She stood up to reach over the table for the coffee carafe. There wasn't enough caffeine in the world to last her through this weekend. "The least you could do is be here to greet her when she gets in."

"And distract her away from _you_?" Jezza asked with a sly wink and a chuckle. 

Emma blushed and gave him a light slap on the arm. "Jeremy Simmons!" she admonished him. "What a thing to say about my mother!"

"I can't help noticing you haven't denied it," he grinned over his cup before taking a sip.

"Hush, you," she grinned back. 

"But Mum-" Jemma started. 

"I'm sure they'll be going back again another day," Emma said placatingly as she rose to start clearing the dishes. "Besides, we need to get you a dress for the wedding you said, so why not today?"

"That reminds me," Geri said, turning to her son. "Did you bring a suit like I told you to?"

Fitz nodded around a large mouthful of strawberries and cream. "Mmhmm."

Geri raised an eyebrow at that. "Did you try it on before you packed it?" she pressed, never one to let the details go unchecked.

Fitz swallowed and shook his head. "Should I have?" he asked, catching the plate of crepes before Emma cleared it from the table. "Just  _one_ more, actually," he grinned up at her. 

Emma ruffled his hair and smiled down at him, holding the plate for him to serve himself. "How you stay so skinny when you eat as much as you do is one of the biological questions of the age," she joked. 

"He's actually holding back," Jemma laughed at the same time that Geri said, "You haven't seen anything yet, Emma."

Fitz blushed and concentrated on the food in front of him. "S'not my fault I get hungry," he shrugged self-consciously. 

"Don't worry about them, Fitz," Jezza reassured him in his booming voice. "You're a growing boy, and you need to eat." He reached one long arm out and stabbed the last crepe on the platter before Emma could turn away. "Whereas I just like the taste." He grinned broadly and cut a large bite with his fork.

"Skinny or not," Geri said, bringing the conversation back around, "You're taller now than the last time I saw you and who knows if that suit you brought with you to America will come down past your knees or not anymore." She shook her head and tutted. "You'll try it on after breakfast, and if it doesn't fit you'll just have to get a new one."

"But-" Fitz protested. He hated clothes shopping.

"But me no buts, Leopold Fitz," Geri said with a look that made Opposition MPs quake in their boots. "I'll not have you looking like a latchkey child at this wedding."

"Yes, Mum," Fitz sighed, digging into his food morosely. 

Geri stood up and kissed him on the top of his head before starting to collect the empty glasses. "Besides, you're  _much_ too handsome to be seen in a bad suit." She got a mischievous look on her face and looked over at the other side of the table. "Don't you think so, Jemma?"

Jemma choked on the sip of juice she'd just taken and coughed a few times to clear her airway. "Yes," she croaked, meeting Fitz's eyes through her tears and nodding. "Much," she agreed.

Emma, Jezza, and Geri all looked at her in surprise. 

"Thanks, Jemma," Fitz mumbled around a mouthful. 

The looks of surprise turned to him.

"Jemma?" Geri asked, not sure she'd heard correctly.

"S'her name, isn't it?" Fitz shrugged, blushing slightly. "Figured I should use it if we're meant to be, _y'know_." He shrugged again.

"Dating?" Emma asked, not quite believing it.

"Right," Fitz nodded. "That."

"And I'll be calling him Leo," Jemma put in. "For the look of the thing."

Jezza looked from one of them to the other and blew out a long breath as he scratched his beard. "And to think," he said mildly. "I thought this situation was already as strange as it could get."


	8. Chapter 8

Mrs. Evelyn [Lorraine](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3355425536/ch0254170) Harris had had quite an interesting life, not that her daughter or granddaughter knew it. She'd been a Private in the American forces during the Second World War, and it was through her service in England that she'd met her husband.

Eventually.

He was no Steve Rogers, but Tom had been a good man and a good husband, and actually a very good lover.

Yet another fact that she'd never shared with her descendants.

But looking at a picture of this _Leopold_ that Jemma was 'dating,' she couldn't help but remember her own days of youth when she and Tom had worked side by side in the day and lain side by side at night.

"He's a bit skinny, isn't he?" she sniffed as she passed back the phone, watching Jemma carefully to see how she'd react.

"I think slender men look _nice_ , grandma," Jemma said evenly, sitting up a bit straighter on the settee.

"And those masses of curly hair!" Evelyn tutted. "He's practically _wild_." She winked surreptitiously at Geri. That ought to help with the haircut argument she was working up to having with her son.

"I think they're _charming_ ," Jemma argued. "Very," she paused as she tried to think of something a girlfriend might say. "Soft."

"Soft?" Evelyn repeated. "I daresay he _is_ ," she jabbed a finger toward Jemma. "And you as well, sitting at a _computer_ all the live long day."

"There's nothing wrong with computers, grandma!" Jemma protested. "You of all people should know that, working as you did with [Katherine Johnson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Johnson)."

"I worked with Peggy Carter, too," Evelyn said shortly. "That doesn't mean I hold truck with all of this spying business."

"You _what_?" Jemma asked, shocked. Her own _grandmother_ had known Peggy Carter? Had _w_ _orked with_ Peggy Carter?

"Now then," Emma said in an overly cheerful tone as she returned to the living room with the tea. "That's enough of the raised voices, mother, Jemma." She gave them each a quelling look as she sat down. "Let's all just have our tea and a nice quiet chat, yes?" She lifted the teapot to pour and stopped short. "Oh no," she sighed and put it down again.

"I've got you, Emma," Geri said, patting her on the shoulder. "Just you sit and rest, and I'll go and get the cups."

Jemma and her grandmother shared a look of shared frustration while Emma sat on the ottoman and smiled apologetically. "I did remember the saucers, though?" she shrugged.

* * *

Fitz was on his back beneath a massive computer board. He had a tool in each hand and one clenched between his teeth, and he was happier than he'd been in _months_. He was working on the Jodrell Bank Observatory's array! By request! Fixing an issue that had stymied their staff engineers for the better part of two weeks!

Reaching a hand out, he slapped the edge of the desk.

"Try it now?" he asked, feeling a bit smug.

There was some murmuring above him and a rapid tapping of keys and then a moment's held breath before a roomful of cheerful shouts. Then Jezza was pulling him out from under the table by his legs.

"I _knew_ you were just the man for the job, my boy," he said, slapping Fitz on the back before grabbing his hand and helping him to his feet. "Didn't I tell you?" he asked the room at large. "Didn't I say Fitz was just the man for the job?" He was smiling so broadly he could have got a dental checkup, and he was so full of pride he was near to bursting.

Fitz grinned and shrugged off the compliment, but not so hard that he wouldn't get a few more. It was nice being appreciated for the genius he was.

"Wherever did you find him, Jezza?" asked one of the astrophysicists who'd been watching Fitz do his work.

Jezza let out a loud belly laugh and wrapped an arm around Fitz's shoulders to pull him into a quick side hug. "Followed my daughter home from school!"

Fitz snorted. While technically true, it left a lot of the story untold. Of course, with them being in S.H.I.E.L.D., keeping stories vague was sort of necessary.

"How _is_ Jemma?" asked one of the graduate students. "I was hoping I might see her while she's in town."

Fitz bristled slightly at that. Who did this bloke think he was, horning in on Simmons' time at home with her family? "She's busy," he said shortly.

Jezza cleared his throat and dropped his arm from Fitz's shoulders, nodding in agreement. "Yes, quite busy," he said quickly. "Family wedding and all. You know how it is."

The student looked from Jezza to Fitz and came to a logical conclusion. " _Ohh_. I see." He ran a hand through his hair in mild embarrassment and ploughed through. "Well, tell her I said hi at least?" he said with a weak smile.

"Will do, will do," Jezza nodded, looking at Fitz out of the corner of his eye. Lifting his wrist, he made a show of checking his watch. "Is that the time?" he asked in overdone surprise. "We must be off or we'll be late to supper, and we don't want to get in trouble with our women, do we?" he chuckled, elbowing Fitz in the ribs.

"Our w-?" Fitz started to ask, but a harder nudge took his breath away before he could finish. "Right," he croaked, nodding. "Don't want to get in trouble." He gave Jezza a short glare and rubbed his sore ribs before exchanging a few more pleasantries and handshakes on their way out the door.

"We'll come back again after the wedding!" Jezza said in place of goodbye and offered the room a broad wave.

"Thanks for the tour," Fitz said to Dr. Liikanen before being almost bodily dragged from the room by Dr. Simmons.

"What-?" he started to ask, wondering why they were suddenly in a rush to leave. He'd been enjoying himself immensely and would have been happy to miss dinner in order to continue his tour.

Well, maybe 'happy' was overstating things. But he wouldn't have minded having a take away instead of a sit down meal.

Jezza pulled him into his office and closed the door before turning to face him and look at him seriously.

"What?" Fitz asked again, feeling somehow guilty and not knowing why.

Jezza crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at him appraisingly. "You are just _pretending_ to date my daughter, aren't you Fitz?" he asked, his voice full of suspicion.

Fitz frowned and scoffed mightily. Then he remembered his and Simmons' plan and swallowed the laughter that wanted to bubble up. "Why'd you ask?" he said instead, shifting his eyes from side to side and shuffling his feet. He might not be the best liar in the world, but he certainly knew how to look guilty.

"Because that was the most convincing jealous boyfriend act I've seen since I can't even tell you when."

* * *

 


	9. Chapter 9

Fitz whispered into his cellphone in the hopes that the overly-solicitous salesman wouldn't overhear him.

"It's bloody _awful_ Jemma," he complained, staring at the dozen or more suits that were in the changing room with him. "They're all the _same!_ Except stupid bloody _Marcel_ claims that they're all _different_ ," he grumbled and flipped through a few of the hangers, not noticing any significant mods from one suit to another.

Jemma blew out a frustrated breath in her own changing room on the other side of town. "Have you got to wear special underthings just to be able to put yours on?" she asked acidly. "Because if not, I'm _really_ not the person to complain to right at this moment."

"Special...?" Fitz frowned and squinted as he held first one tie and then another next to his face. Marcel had been doing that out on the shop floor, but he couldn't for the life of him fathom _why_. "'Course not," he said distractedly. He heaved a sigh of his own as he stared at the myriad dress shirts stacked up on the bench in front of the mirror. "How'm I supposed to know what looks good with what?" he asked, trying valiantly to keep the whining tone out of his voice.

Jemma rolled her eyes. "Just a moment," she said, putting the phone down on the delicate chair in the corner of the room that was good for supporting her purse and basically nothing else. She wiggled her hips and struggled with getting the sleeves up her arms and then, panting slightly, picked her phone up again. "Just... get something navy," she said, swiping a hand across her forehead to wipe off some of the perspiration. There was no way she could go back out to model a dress while she was still dripping. Not in front of Grandma Evelyn.

"Navy?" Fitz asked, pulling a dark blue suit off of the hook on the wall.

"It'll bring out your eyes," Jemma explained, struggling into the heels Geri had insisted she bring with her. "Damnit!" she cursed quietly when one of them scooted away from her on the linoleum floor.

"What's wrong?" Fitz asked, hanging the suit back up and turning toward the door of his changing room.

"Errant shoe," Jemma answered with a brief laugh. "Apparently, I simply _must_ wear heels," she shook her head, then looked in the mirror to try to make her hair behave.

Fitz frowned and looked down at his trainers. He'd probably need to get new shoes too. He'd forgotten to bring any nice ones with him. "Not _too_ high?" he asked in what he hoped was a casual way.

Jemma laughed for real at that. "Even if I wore 5" stilettos, you'd still be half an inch taller than me," Jemma reassured him. "Most men's dress shoes have a heel to them these days."

"You're wearing 5" stilettos?" Fitz asked derisively. "I hope that special underwear has lots of padding to it!" He'd seen Simmons try to wear those thin, skyscraper heels once when she was getting ready for a date. She'd practically sprained her ankle.

"Oh, shut up," Jemma said fondly. "Just... get a navy suit and tie and a white shirt. It'll be boring, but then it won't matter what dress I end up getting."

"Why would it matter what dress you get?" Fitz asked, confused. "I mean, other than hopefully you get one you don't hate too much." That was his goal with buying a suit.

"We're supposed to be dating, remember?" Jemma sighed. "Couples tend to coordinate these things."

"They do?"

"They do."

"Well, bollocks to that."

"Agreed."

* * *

"So _this_ is what you've brought home, is it?" Evelyn asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow at Fitz. She bit down on the back of her tongue to keep the dowager expression on her face. He was even more adorable in person than he had been in those pictures Jemma had shown her.

Fitz opened his mouth to protest and Jemma stepped on his foot while smiling brightly at her grandmother.

"That's right," she said enthusiastically. "Fitz, this is my Grandma Evelyn. Grandma, this is Fitz. Leopold. _Leo_." Jemma pressed her lips together and held her breath, hoping she wouldn't notice how she'd floundered with her own supposed boyfriend's name.

Evelyn's other eyebrow joined the first in the middle of her forehead as she turned to look at Jemma. "Which is it?" she asked mildly. She blinked slowly and then looked back at Fitz. "Well?" she asked impatiently. "Cat got your tongue?"

"No ma'am," Fitz shook his head, feeling himself stand at attention. "It's," he cleared his throat and cursed everyone and everything. " _Leo_ , ma'am," he finally eked out.

"There's no need to be calling me ma'am," Evelyn said, folding her hands primly in her lap. "I retired from the military long before you were born or thought of."

"Yes, ma'-" Fitz caught himself in time. "Yes... Mrs. Harris?" he said, unsure of what the etiquette might be in this situation.

Evelyn nodded briefly and turned back to Jemma. "You didn't tell me he was _Scottish_ ," she said with some distaste. She pinched her leg to keep herself from giggling. Really, being the mean old lady was a lot more fun that she'd ever thought it would be.

"Well," Jemma said weakly, gesturing awkwardly toward the kitchen. "He _is_ Geri's son," she said. "I sort of... thought you knew?"

Evelyn frowned deeply. "And I don't approve of how you call your elders by their Christian names," she said shortly. "Disrespectful."

"Now, now, Evelyn," Jezza tutted as he entered the room. "We've _asked_ them to," he said, leaning down to give the old woman a brief kiss on her crepe paper cheek. He had no idea _why_ Evelyn was being so horrid to the children, but Emma had insisted it was an important part of the plan, and so he wasn't challenging it. Yet. Reaching down, he took her slender, wrinkled hands in his large ones and pulled her to her feet. "Now, let's just have a nice supper together, shall we?"

"Who cooked it?" Evelyn asked suspiciously. "I don't trust that political woman in the kitchen."

Jezza allowed Evelyn to enter the dining room ahead of him. Turning to Jemma and Fitz, he spread his hands wide and shrugged helplessly.

He definitely needed to have a word with the girls about all this.

* * *

 

"Your grandmother hates me," Fitz sighed morosely as he hung up the bag containing his new suit.

Jemma tutted in sympathy and bit her bottom lip. "She doesn't _hate_ you," she said with a weak smile. "She doesn't know you well enough for _hatred_ , yet." She grimaced and shook her head. "That came out wrong, but you know what I mean."

Fitz crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her as she hung up her own garment bag. " _Ohh_ ," he said rather pointedly. "So if I just give her enough _time_ , she'll truly _loathe_ my breathing guts?"

Jemma blushed and shrugged evasively. "I'll keep working on her," she said with a wave of her hand before needlessly smoothing down the plastic covering her new dress. "Don't pay her any attention."

"Don't pay her-" Fitz cut himself off to look at Jemma like she'd lost her mind. He flung an arm out toward the door and his voice rose in pitch if not in volume. "How can I _not_ pay her attention when she can't spend more than three seconds at a time not ragging on me!" He didn't know how good Evelyn's hearing was, and he had no desire for her to pick up what he was saying. "She's being a total _cow_!"

Jemma set her jaw as her brows drew together. "That is my _grandmother_ you're talking about, Leopold Fitz!"

"And _I'm_ your boyfriend!" he whisper-shouted back.

Jezza stopped short in the hallway outside his daughter's room, on his way to bed. He frowned in confusion. Fitz had told him that the two of them were just friends and they were going along with their mothers' crazy scheme so as to, for lack of a better way of saying it, shut them up.

His frown deepened as Jemma shushed Fitz and the door to her room closed with a click.


	10. Chapter 10

"Well, we've got your dad convinced," Fitz said sheepishly. He had one hand buried deep in his jeans pocket and the other was running through the hair on the back of his head, and he wasn't quite meeting Jemma's eyes.

" _No,_ " Jemma corrected him. "We _had_ him convinced, and then you decided for _god knows what_ _reason_ to **unconvince** him." She was plumping the pillows on her bed with a fierceness that would have caused a flurry of feathers to explode around her if they weren't filled with a cotton-poly blend.

Fitz shrugged helplessly. "He's your dad..." he trailed off as soon as he started.

"And it was _your idea_ ," Jemma blew out a frustrated breath so hard it moved her fringe. "Remember?" She gestured broadly toward her bed. "When we were in bed last night?"

Jemma was glaring at Fitz, her hand still pointing toward her bed when she replayed in her head what she'd just said and felt a blush start to creep over her cheeks. Fitz was way ahead of her and was already a rather interesting shade of pink.

"I mean..." she cleared her throat.

"I remember," Fitz said quickly, clearing his throat as well. "I just..." he searched for the right way to say it. "Couldn't we have your dad on _our_ side? Against our mums?" He gave her his best puppy dog eyes and hoped.

Jemma held out for almost 15 seconds before sighing and dropping her shoulders in defeat. She was no good against that dopey little face. "Fine," she gave in gracelessly. "But this time, _I'll_ talk to him."

* * *

Jezza frowned into the bathroom mirror as he brushed his teeth. It was all just so confusing.

Emma and Geri were bound and determined to get the children together for some reason.

The children insisted they _weren't_ together, and yet it seemed like every five minutes he was running into yet another reason why it seemed like they already were.

Jemma constantly fiddling with a ring (a ring!) that Fitz had made her for her birthday. Fitz acting like a jealous boyfriend when Isaac had asked about Jemma. Jemma speaking so very warmly and favourably to Evelyn about Fitz's many virtues. Although that one, he supposed, was just to counteract the vitriol that Evelyn was spouting at every opportunity.

She was enjoying being the cantankerous Gran entirely too much.

He couldn't really blame her though. It did look like loads of fun.

But then Fitz had actually _said_ that he was her boyfriend!

Jezza wasn't sure what he thought of Fitz's excuse that he'd thought the person in the hall had been his mother. He and Geri were _much_ different sizes, and the amount of squeaking the floorboards did under their footfalls was _quite_ different. And anyhow, what sort of boy tried to make a fool of his own mother? And about something as important as love!

Jezza shook his head and spit into the sink. Kids these days. They just weren't willing to commit. Not like when he was young. Why, he'd proposed to Emma a month after he'd met her! And he'd only waited that long because he didn't want to ask until she'd defended her thesis.

His face broke into a wide smile as he remembered how nervous he'd been when he'd asked and how amazed he'd been when she'd said yes.

His memories were interrupted by a knock on the bathroom door and his daughter's voice saying, "Daddy?"

"One second, Moonbeam," he called through the door. After rinsing the last of the toothpaste out of his mouth, he patted his face dry, making sure he didn't have any stray specks in his beard, and then he opened the door. "Don't tell me you need me to tuck you in?" he chuckled. "It might be a bit awkward with Fitz there."

He still wasn't sure what he thought of these sleeping arrangements the girls had made. Surely Geri could have shared with Jemma and Fitz could have taken the sofabed in the office. That would have been much better for all concerned.

"Oh, Dad," Jemma smiled and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek as he leaned down for her. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked, still balancing on her toes. Her hands tangled together nervously in front of her.

"Of course, Sunshine," Jezza said, wrapping one big arm around her shoulders in a hug. "Tea or cocoa?"

Jemma looked up at him, and he was reassured that no matter what happened with Fitz or Isaac or anyone else, she'd always be his little girl.

* * *

"You're late to bed," Emma observed from where she was sitting against the headboard with her laptop in front of her and papers scattered around. 

"Mmhmm," Jezza nodded distractedly. He took off his robe and laid it over the bench at the foot of their bed and shuffled out of his slippers before slipping into the bed without disturbing her work. He had a vague frown on his face, and he was clearly lost in thought.

"You're not going to the Observatory again tomorrow, are you?" Emma asked somewhat desperately. "It's the rehearsal in the afternoon and then everyone coming here for drinks before dinner."

"No, no," Jezza reassured her with a pat on her thigh and a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll be here to keep a lid on things," he smiled warmly. "It's just..." he frowned again and crossed his arms over his barrel chest.

Emma looked over her glasses frames at her husband and nodded once, firmly. "Right," she said, closing her laptop and gathering her papers together. She piled it all a bit precariously on her bedside table, pushing aside a stack of books and making the tissue box fall to the floor. She tsked briefly but decided to leave it for the morning and took off her reading glasses to better look at her husband. Looping her hands around his upper arm, she leaned her head against his shoulder after briefly kissing it. "What's got my Jezza-bear so upset?" she asked soothingly.

"It's the children," Jezza sighed and shook his head. "This whole situation is just..." he trailed off again and buried his lips in his wife's auburn curls.

"They're in _love_ ," Emma said brightly, lifting her head to kiss her husband's cheek. "A mother _knows_ these things."

Jezza looked at her helplessly, unable to voice any of the myriad thoughts racing around his brain. Where could he even _begin_? "But..." he began before stopping short. Jemma had made him promise that he'd let her and Fitz handle Emma and Geri. She didn't want to get him involved in the whole thing, so he'd agreed to stay right out of it.

"I know," Emma admitted, patting his arm gently and then pulling it around her shoulders so that she could snuggle into his side. "She's still your little girl, and you don't want her with _anyone_ , even Fitz."

"That's not..." Jezza said weakly. Except she wasn't entirely wrong on that point.

"And they're insisting they're _just friends_ ," Emma continued, her disbelief clear in her tone.

"Well," Jezza began. "I mean..."

"But they just haven't _noticed_ yet that they're already dating!" Leaving one arm circled under her husband's back, she leaned back over to her bedside table and grabbed her laptop. The papers she'd balanced on top of it shifted and spilled onto the floor. "Oh, bollocks," she sighed softly. Then she shrugged. They'd keep til the morning, too.

"How do you not...?" Jezza asked as he lifted his arm for his wife to slide under it again.

"Let me just show you my research, and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about," Emma assured him. "It's clear as the beard on your face."

Jezza looked down at her guiltily. "You've noticed?" he asked. He'd been hoping he'd be able to keep it a while longer with her being as distracted as she was by her current project.

"I _always_ notice, dear," she said, smiling at him and kissing him on the lips. "I just pretend I don't because it makes you happy."


	11. Chapter 11

"You know what they say, love," Jezza said, reassuringly patting Emma's knee as he drove them home. "Bad rehearsal means good opening night."

"It's not the theatre, Jezza!" Emma moaned, face in her hands. "It's a _wedding_."

"Yes," Jezza conceded. "But it's not _our_ daughter getting married, so just focus on that."

"But the _flowers!_ " Emma wailed. "I was supposed to order orchids and instead I ordered daisies. Daisies!" she repeated, as if it were the end of the world.

"And the bride thought they were lovely," Jezza said soothingly, patting her knee once more. Then he chuckled, "The groom didn't even notice!"

"And the officiant!" Emma continued, determined to be right about the disaster. "He got their names wrong!"

Jezza turned in his indicator before turning down their street. "Well, that's why they have _rehearsals_ , dear," he said with a warm smile. "To work out all of the kinks ahead of the big day!"

"I know, but..."

"Remember _our_ rehearsal?" he asked, nudging her with his elbow before parking in their drive.

Emma couldn't help but smile. "Your hair caught fire," she said fondly, reaching up to touch the hair at the back of his neck.

"Haven't had it long since," Jezza grinned. Then he leaned down and kissed her. "And see? We're happy as pigs in mud!" His grin broadened even wider, making the corners of his eyes crinkle.

Emma laughed and rolled her eyes. "Ever the romantic," she said drily as she got out of the car. They had people coming over for cocktails in an hour. There was no time to waste.

* * *

 

Geri placed her drink on the bathroom vanity and squinted at her reflection in the mirror. The dress was good: conservative enough for a woman of her age but cut in such a way that it showed her figure to its best advantage. The hair, though. She shook her head and tutted before pulling it out of its tight bun. The dark brown masses spilled around her shoulders and for just a moment, she considered leaving it down.

"No need to be _that_ obvious," she mumbled to herself. Gathering up the thick waves once more, she twisted them into a low chignon at the back of her neck and then pulled out a few soft tendrils at the sides of her face.

She reached for her drink and tossed the rest of it back before opening her clutch and taking out her lipstick. "Right," she said, nodding to herself in the mirror. "You can do this."

With a head raised up proudly and a back straight with confidence, she opened the bathroom door and re-entered the party, her eyes darting about in search of a particular face. Before she was able to find it, however, her wrist was clutched in the vice-like grip of Victoria Newgate, the mother of the bride.

"Oh, Ms. Fitz," she gushed, eyes wide and voice over-awed. "We're just _so_ honoured to have you here at our little family wedding." She looked toward the kitchen where Emma and Jezza were busily pouring drinks. "My sister knows just the most _interesting_ people."

Geri smiled kindly at the woman and tried to gently pry her arm free. "I'm grateful for the invitation," she demurred. "For myself _and_ my son," she nodded to the other side of the room where Fitz was engaged in lively conversation with the ring bearer and two of the groomsmen. From his gestures, he was probably talking about some plane or rocket or something like that. "And please, call me Geri," she offered.

"Oh, of _course_ ," Victoria fawned. "When Emma told me who Jemma was dating, I simply _insisted_ you both come along." Looking around the room a bit desperately, Victoria saw the person she was looking for and began waving her arm frantically to get his attention. A middle-age man with greying hair and an amiable but vague expression came over to them. "Please let me introduce my husband, Gary," Victoria simpered. "He's becoming _quite_ the name in local politics."

Geri looked from Victoria to Gary and back again, recognizing the hungry look in Victoria's eye. This was a woman on the make, alright, determined to get her husband elected so that she could brag about being a political wife. Geri had seen it dozens of times before, and it was more than a little bit tiresome. Why make your _husband_ the politician when you could do a much better job of it _yourself_?

She offered Gary her hand and a polite smile and promptly shut off her brain. From the looks of him, he wouldn't have an intelligent thing to say, anyway. She continued the conversation with nods and murmurs at the appropriate moments, but her eyes were busy subtly scanning the room.

Where had the ruddy man got to?

* * *

Jemma strode up to Fitz and looped her hand through his arm with a smile and a laugh. She stroked his bicep through his dress shirt with her other hand and leaned in to whisper in his ear. 

"Get me out of here before I commit a bloody murder," she said, her tone light and playful even as she tried to ensure she wasn't overheard.

"Of course," Fitz nodded, covering her hand with his own. He turned to the guys he'd been chatting with and offered his apologies. "Sorry fellas, but I'm needed elsewhere."

The three of them ooh'd outrageously and slapped each other's hands in congratulations for their wit and Jemma rolled her eyes as she and Fitz walked away.

"Do men really think that that's funny?" she asked a bit shortly as she pushed their way through the cocktail hour to the study at the back of the house, dragging Fitz behind her by their joined hands.

"Depends on the man?" Fitz shrugged. He was trying to avoid the knowing looks being shot in their direction from a dozen people he'd never met before.

Jemma poked her head through an archway that lead to the kitchen and nodded firmly. "Alright," she said, turning to him. "This should do."

"Do for what?" Fitz frowned, confused.

"Laura and her bridesmaids haven't given me a moment's rest since they saw you at the rehearsal," Jemma explained, blowing out a frustrated breath. "Tinny, the short one with the huge," Jemma gestured in front of herself to indicate the rather prodigious bosom of the bridesmaid in question. When Fitz nodded his comprehension, she continued. "Well, she's insisting that there's no way that I could 'catch' a man like you, and the rest are just piling on with the comments."

"A man like me?" Fitz asked. "What's that supposed to mean?" He was completely at loose ends with this entire conversation and really hoping that it would start making sense soon.

Jemma sighed. "I've always been the _smart_ one," she said. " _Obviously._ I mean, I'm not bragging here becau-"

"I know, Jemma," Fitz reassured her. "Me too, remember?"

"Right," Jemma nodded, twisting her fingers nervously. "Anyway, I was never that popular or..." she breathed in a bit sharply. "Or pretty, really," she continued quickly. "Not when we were children, I mean." She smiled tightly and continued. "Obviously that's changed, but when we were younger, I was the one who never had a boyfriend, and well..."

"And?"

"And they think you're too handsome and funny for me to actually be dating you," Jemma admitted, looking over her shoulder at the archway. "For real, I mean," she added.

"I'm-?" Fitz balked, nonplussed. "Well, what do they think we _are_ then?"

"They think you're my gay best friend and I'm your beard because you're still in the closet because of your mum."

Fitz blinked as he processed all of the information in that one sentence.

"Why would my mum care if I were gay?" he asked. It wasn't the most relevant question to the situation at hand, but it was possibly the strangest part of that scenario and so he felt he needed to ask that first.

"Something about politics?" Jemma said dismissively, looking at the archway again. "Look, they're all in there finishing up some special drinks they've made for the party and they're going to be coming out here any moment now."

"And you want me to tell them you're my girlfriend," Fitz concluded, nodded firmly. "Right. I'll make sure they're convinced."

"I want to convince them alright," Jemma nodded, stepping close to him as the chatter from the next room increased in volume. "But not with words."

"What do y-" Fitz started to ask, but then Jemma was wrapping her arms around his neck and his hands were sliding around her waist, and he totally forgot what he was going to say.


	12. Chapter 12

Jemma woke up with a lot of things on her mind.

Today was the wedding rehearsal, after which everyone would be coming over for drinks and then going out for dinner. That meant that today was the first full day of "dating" Fitz.

She sighed and stared up at her bedroom ceiling.

She supposed it could be worse; her mother could have suggested _Isaac_ as her boyfriend. That would have been awkward. Considering.

Still, she and Fitz were going to have to step up their game if they were going to convince anyone at all that they were romantically involved. Simply knowing each other well wasn't going to be enough. Not when Tinny was around.

She sighed again.

"Two sighs already?" Fitz yawned beside her, stretching his arms above his head and his toes down toward the bottom of the bed. "That doesn't bode well for the day." He smacked his tongue along the roof of his mouth and made a face at his morning breath, then turned to her as he scratched the stubble on his cheek. "Penny?"

Jemma turned her head to offer him a half-smile and then turned back to the ceiling and sighed one more time.

"Why do my family care so much about whether or not I've paired off like some sort of brood mare on the ark?" Jemma asked with a fair bit of bitterness. "Have I not proved more than capable of taking care of myself without having some _man_ around to make sure I'm... what? Safe? Pregnant? A kept woman?"

Fitz ducked his head out of the way as Jemma gesticulated a bit wildly in her annoyance and frustration. "Don't look at _me_ ," he shrugged. "I've thought the whole idea was rubbish right from the start."

Jemma rolled onto her side, propped up with one elbow and gave him another smile, this one appreciative. "I _know_ ," she admitted. "And I appreciate that, I _do_ ," she patted his chest fondly. "But it doesn't really help us get through the next two days does it?"

Fitz covered her hand with his and gave it a squeeze. "We'll figure it out," he said reassuringly. "We always do."

\----------------------------------------------

Fitz grumbled to himself as he tried to get his hair to stay where he'd put it. The day was not starting well, and it wasn't just because ~~Simm~~ _Jemma_ ~~~~was in a foul mood. No, he'd had to do battle with the old battleaxe herself, Grandma Harris. The woman bloody _loathed_ him, and he couldn't for the life of him see _why_.

 _He_ was being polite. He was being downright _considerate_ , making sure she didn't fall on the stairs and carrying her knitting to her chair for her. Alright, so maybe it wasn't _her_ knitting, but how was _he_ supposed to know that Jezza was working on a crafting project! And _yes_ , maybe he'd assumed that the prune juice was hers, but honestly. Since when had his mum started drinking the stuff? She was hardly _old_!

"You almost done in there, Fitz?" Jemma called from outside the door.

"Don't you mean _Leo_?" he asked derisively. He'd heard nothing but that name all morning long, and it was definitely wearing his patience thin.

Jemma turned the handle and pushed the door in, standing outside with one eyebrow raised and an unimpressed expression. "Oh _yes_ ," she said sarcastically. "Being called by your first name is _so_ much more _demeaning_ than being _thrown_ at a man because you're 24 years old and practically an old maid!"

"You're hardly being _thrown_ at me," Fitz scoffed, patting his hair one last time and moving past Jemma into the hallway.

Jemma moved over to the mirror and grabbed a brush to pull through her hair. "I'm as _good_ as!" she retorted, tugging hard in her anger. "Ow! Damnit!" she cursed and slammed the brush down on the vanity. "It's all just so... _ridiculous!_ "

Fitz sighed and looked at her with understanding and more than a little bit of pity. "Hug?" he offered, opening his arms wide.

Jemma nodded and curled into his embrace. She tucked her head between his shoulder and neck and pressed her hands against the soothing warmth of his chest and closed her eyes as his arms wrapped around her and squeezed her tight. She felt herself relax almost immediately, and when his hands smoothed up and down her back, a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

Fitz felt the tension drain out of her and gave her another squeeze before relaxing his grip a bit. "Better?" he asked, looking at her carefully to judge her mood.

"Sorry," Jemma apologized. "I don't mean to be so..." she waved a hand, not sure what word to use.

Fitz chuckled. "I could say the same myself," he admitted.

"You'll never get her pregnant _that_ way, Jocko," Evelyn cackled as she finished climbing the stairs. "Not unless you've got a lot more downstairs than I'd give you credit for."

Fitz's mouth dropped open and his brows drew together as he released a high-pitched grunt of insult.

"Grandma!" Jemma gasped, horrified.

"I'll say this much for him, though," Evelyn continued, striding over and grabbing Fitz's face in her bony hand. She tilted him this way and that, his mouth still open, and then she nodded. "I thought so," she said. "Whatever he's got in his britches is as may be, but he's got a long tongue and that's something at least."

"Oh my god," Jemma muttered, staring in disbelief as her grandmother released Fitz's cheeks from her grasp and then toddled onward to her room.

"I suppose you could do worse," Evelyn granted over her shoulder. She paused in the doorway to the guest room and turned back to them. "Not _much_ worse, but..." she shrugged and then continued inside, closing the door after her.

"How did someone as horrible as that," Fitz asked as he rubbed his face, as much from the burning blush he'd sprouted as from the squeeze he'd just received. "Make someone as nice as your mum?"

"I've no idea," Jemma replied quietly, staring at the door and shaking her head numbly.

\----------------------------------------------

"She does have a point, though," Fitz said as he and Jemma were getting ready to leave for the church. Her parents and grandmother had already left and his mum was just finishing getting ready upstairs. She was taking a lot longer than she usually would.

"Who?" Jemma asked, rooting around in her handbag to make sure she had everything she needed. House keys, wallet, lipstick, cellphone...

"Your gran," Fitz frowned.

Jemma looked up at him, startled. " _Excuse_ me?" she asked. "The part about your tongue? Or the part about what you might have 'downstairs'?" She crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow at him. This ought to be good. "I _certainly_ hope you're not referring to the bit about me getting pregnant."

Fitz blushed and rolled his eyes. "Not _that_ ," he said, shaking his head abruptly. "I just mean..."

"Yes?"

"Well, I mean, we were hugging right?"

"Yes."

"And your gran, well..." he stumbled over his words slightly. "She didn't seem to think it was terribly," he cleared his throat. "Romantic."

"Probably because it wasn't," Jemma agreed.

"Exactly," Fitz nodded. "But if your own grandmother 'catches' us in an 'embrace' and doesn't even bat an eye," he continued. "How are we supposed to make her think we're, y'know..." he trailed off.

"Ugh," Jemma sighed and nodded her head. "I _know!_ " she agreed. "But what _else_ are we supposed to do? Snog each other silly like a couple of teenagers?"

Fitz blinked at her and then paused, considering.

Jemma tilted her head and considered as well.

"I mean..." Fitz said with a shrug.

"I _suppose_ we could..." Jemma shrugged back.

\---------------------------------------------

"Just like we practiced," Jemma whispered as she heard Tinny and the gang troop into the study. Then her eyelids fluttered shut as she pressed her lips against his.

"Mmhmm," Fitz nodded, and pulled her more tightly against him. He tilted his head to the right and opened his lips against hers, swallowing her soft sigh and releasing one of his own. 

Jemma pushed her fingers into Fitz's hair and gently scratched the back of his head under his soft curls. She sucked softly on his lower lip and moaned as his tongue came out to slide briefly against hers.

Fitz wrapped his right hand entirely around her waist, pulling her so close he could barely breathe. His left, he slid up and into her hair, tangling her carefully brushed waves in his fist. He was breathing heavier now, gasping slightly every time their mouths repositioned.

Jemma pulled Fitz's mouth harder against her own as she pressed her tongue against his lips and begged for entrance. They both moaned when it slipped inside his mouth, and she felt a bit dizzy as her heartbeat pummeled her chest.

"Jemma Simmons!" Laura gasped out loud behind her.

Jemma and Fitz jumped apart guiltily, both running their hands through their hair and over their clothes to try to make themselves presentable again.

"This is my _wedding_!" Laura squeaked in shock. "And you're acting like a _tart!_ "

Tinny crossed her arms below her prodigious bosom and nodded vehemently. "A total skank," she confirmed. "Nothing but a cheap _slut_."

Fitz's hands balled into fists at his sides as they hurled those words at Simmons in the most patronizing tones he'd ever heard.

"She's not a _slut_ ," Fitz growled, pulling Jemma behind him and leveling a glare at the other women. "She's my _fiance_!"


	13. Chapter 13

Jemma licked her lips and then pressed them tightly together as she tried to pat her hair and straighten her clothes at the same time. She wasn't really listening while Laura and Tinny took whatever digs at her they felt like taking. She was too preoccupied with thinking about that kiss. That was _not_ the way they'd practiced. When they'd practiced, it had mostly just been a hug with an extended peck. They'd admitted at the time that they'd need to be a bit more convincing in front of other people, but before they could try it out, Fitz's mum had started coming down the stairs and they'd had to get to the church.

Now, Jemma tried to blink her eyes into focusing on what was happening while also catching her breath. Fitz had kissed it right out of her.

"... not a _slut_! She's my _fiance_!" Fitz was saying as he jostled her out of her stupor.

Jemma's jaw dropped in horror as she realized what was happening. "Oh, _Fitz_ ," she groaned, wrapping her hands around her neck. That was _not_ what she'd meant when she'd said she wanted to convince Laura and Tinny they were dating.

"Fian-" Laura gasped, looking like she might pass out.

Tinny put down the tray of drinks she was carrying and grabbed Laura's out of her hands before the bride collapsed into a nearby chair. She glared at Fitz and Jemma and then rushed to her friend's side, waving a hand over her face desperately. "Don't faint on me, Laura," she urged. "If you faint, people are going to kn-" she cut herself off with a quickly bitten lip and a guilty expression. "To think you're getting cold feet," she finished. Turning back to Jemma she gave her a withering look. "Why does it always have to be about _you_?" she asked bitterly.

"What?" Jemma asked, trying to keep up. Fitz was still holding her behind him with one arm and she pushed it out of the way in annoyance before moving over to check Laura's pulse. "What are you talking about?" She lifted her cousin's wrist with two fingers pressed to its inside and held up her watch to count beats.

"You've been the centre of attention, ever since we were kids!" Tinny accused. "And now, the _one time_ when Laura gets to feel special, you're going to announce your engagement?" She practically spat with her anger. "How very _dare_ you!"

"It's not bad enough you show up with _him_ ," Laura put in weakly, throwing an accusatory finger in Fitz's direction. "Now you're going to take over _my wedding day_ with _your_ engagement?" She pulled her wrist out from Jemma's grasp and pushed herself to her feet. "I don't _think_ so!"

"But-" Jemma started, shaking her head and wondering how in the world she was going to fix this situation.

"You leave her alone!" Fitz demanded, coming up beside her and moving just barely in front.

Jemma tugged him back and pressed a hand to his stomach to keep him from surging forward again.

"This is all a misunderstanding," she said apologetically. "I'm sure if we just-"

"I'm sure if _you_ just keep your mouths shut until _after_ Laura and Mark have left for their honeymoon, we'll all be much happier," Tinny said through a sour expression.

"I swear, Jemma," Laura added in threateningly. "If you breathe a _word_ of this before I'm on that plane to Tahiti, I will make your life _hell_."

Jemma blinked and swallowed hard. She remembered some of the "pranks" Laura and Tinny had played on their friends and neighbours when they were younger and she knew that wasn't an empty threat.

"Not a word," she agreed quietly. It's not like she wanted _that_ rumour running around anyway.

"Good," Laura said. Then she pressed her fingers under her eyes for a moment and took a breath. "Alright," she said, shaking out her hands and tossing her hair back over her shoulders before picking up her tray of special drinks. "It's cocktail time" she said brightly. And out of nowhere, her face was full of glowing happiness.

"Right behind you," Tinny said, pasting on her own smile and picking up her tray.

Fitz and Jemma watched in silence as the women moved purposefully from the room. 

"What. The _hell_ ," Fitz asked, deadpan.

"I could ask _you_ the same question, _Leopold_ ," Jemma said, turning and smacking him on the back of his head.

"Hey! What-?"

"You told them we were _engaged_?" Jemma whispered harshly. The only reason she wasn't screaming at him was that she didn't want anyone to hear what they were talking about.

"You said-"

"I said _dating!_ Not _engaged!_ They're two very different things!"

"But they were calling you a-"

"I don't care if they were calling me a moderately productive charlatan who only publishes in specialized journals, Fitz!" she whisper-shouted, smacking him on the shoulder this time. "That was not helpful!"

"But-!"

"What do we do if Tinny says something?"

"Tinny? But she-"

"Can't keep a secret to save her life!" Jemma explained. "Oh, Fitz," she moaned with sigh, dropping her head onto the shoulder she'd just smacked.

"Oops?" Fitz said, his face an apology. He wrapped one arm around her and patted her gently on the back.

Jemma sighed and stood up straight again. "We just have to get through the next two days," she said. "We can do that, right?"

"Right," Fitz nodded confidently. "No problem. I'm sure Tinny can keep her mouth shut for that long."

They exchanged wan smiles and then, hand in hand, wandered back to the party.

As they left the study, Jezza straightened up from where he'd been crouched in the archway between the kitchen and the study.

" _Engaged_?" he whispered softly. Emma's research hadn't uncovered _that_.


	14. Chapter 14

Jezza made it through the bride and groom's toasts, lifting his glass distractedly while watching his little girl stand next to the man he used to think of as an adopted son.

He wasn't sure what he thought of having him as a son-in-law.

But then he remembered his chat with Jemma over hot cocoa. How she'd explained that she and Fitz were going to pretend that they were falling in love and dating for _real_ so that Emma would stop harassing her about it. He couldn't say the he blamed them at all, especially now that Geri was in on it, as well. That woman could talk the _Prime Minister_ around to her way of thinking. There was no way the children would be able to put up much of an argument against her.

Except neither Geri nor Emma had been anywhere near them when Fitz had called himself her boyfriend. And much as that had been explained away, it didn't account for him declaring them engaged to her cousin. And she hadn't denied it! They'd had a hushed argument, yes, but as far as he could tell it seemed to revolve around Fitz revealing the secret _early_ , not around it being untrue.

And the way she rested her head against his shoulder and he'd put his arm around her waist. That was something _he_ did with _Emma_ all the time. It was second nature to them, and here the children were doing the same thing!

Setting his jaw firmly, Jezza decided to excuse himself from the festivities and go take another look at Emma's research. Maybe _that_ would help him see his way through this convoluted morass of stories versus actions.

\--------------------------------------

"Oh Erik," Geri gasped, pushing him away from her. "We shouldn't!" Her hair was falling out of its neat chignon and her face was flushed beneath her carefully applied makeup. "People are going to notice we're not at the party!"

Dr. Erik Liikanen, chief Astronomer at the Jodrell Bank, ran a hand through his hair and pouted like a schoolboy. "But Geri," he pleaded. "This is the only time we're going to see each other this visit!" He placed his hands on her hips and leaned forward hopefully. "Just a _little_ while longer?"

Geri shifted position on top of the credenza and wrapped her legs around his waist again. A mischievous grin twisted her lips and her eyes lit up. "Well," she caved. "I suppose a _few_ minutes more couldn't hurt?"

Erik leaned in and nuzzled her neck just the way that she liked. "Why can't you just tell your son about us?" he asked as he nibbled her earlobe.

"I'm just not ready yet," Geri answered, sliding her arms up his back and her hands into his hair. "Now did you want to argue with me, or did you want to make out?"

Erik grinned rakishly. " _Well_ ," he said with a raised eyebrow, "If I'm being honest, what I'd really like to do right now is-"

The door behind them opened up and Jezza strode in, stopping short when he saw them. "Erik," he nodded to his boss. "Geri," he gave her a nod as well. He took a step back to the doorway and his hand flailed a bit until it found and gripped the edge of the door. "Enjoying the party?" he asked awkwardly.

"Jezza!" Geri and Erik said, almost at the same time.

Geri pushed Erik away from her and slid off the credenza, pulling her skirt back down as she went. Erik, meanwhile, ran a hand through his hair and pulled on his tie while keeping his back to his colleague.

"I can explain," Geri started, rebuttoning the top two buttons of her blouse.

"No need," Jezza said vehemently as he stared with rapt attention at his wife's bedroom slippers. 

"We'll just..." Erik said, finally turning around and pointing awkwardly toward the door.

"Right," Jezza nodded, scooting out of the way.

"So sorry, Jezza," Geri apologized as she scuttled past him.

He closed the door behind them and blew out a breath. What had gotten _into_ everyone? Geri and Erik had never so much as _held hands_ in a public place the entire time they'd been seeing each other, and now they were snogging in a bedroom at a party?

Carefully avoiding looking at his credenza, he crossed his bedroom and picked up his wife's laptop. Now, where was....? Ahh.

\--------------------------------------

"Mum!" Fitz called as soon as he saw Geri descending the stairs. "There you are, Jemma's mum was looking for you." He looked behind her to where Dr. Liikanen was following her down and gave him a curious look. "Dr. Liikanen?" he asked politely. "I didn't know you'd been invited as well?"

"Um, yes," Erik said, shifting his eyes from Fitz to Geri and back. "I, uh, Jezza was, um, kind enough to..." he swallowed hard and tugged on his tie, even though it wasn't out of place. "How are you enjoying the party?" he asked a bit desperately.

Fitz held up a serviette full of appetizers and smiled. "Food's good," he said happily. Then he frowned. "Bride's a bit of a-"

" _Leo_ ," Geri said warningly.

"... Handful," he finished euphemistically. "I haven't met this Mark fellow, but I wish him luck with her."

"Oh, I don't know," Erik said cheerfully. "There's something about a challenging woman that keeps a man on his toes," he looked briefly over at Geri again. "Can't say I blame him at all for wanting to marry her."

Geri had just taken a sip of one of the violently pink cocktails the bridal party had made for everyone and she coughed slightly into her martini glass. "Too sweet," she explained hoarsely when Fitz moved over to make sure she was alright. "I'm fine."

"Yeah, they're a bit much for me as well," he nodded. "And I love sweets." Seeing that his mother had recovered fully, he turned back to Erik. "Are you married to a challenging woman too, then Dr?" he asked, trying to be polite. He'd been expressly forbidden from talking shop anymore after the ring bearer and his 12 year old cousin had crafted paper airplanes after his design and dive-bombed the neighbour's dog so egregiously that the poor thing had ended up with a case of nervous diarrhea. On the front step of the Simmons' home.

"I'm working on it," Erik replied genially. "She hasn't said yes yet, but I remain ever hopeful."

Geri put her drink down with a clink on the plant stand next to the settee and looped her arm through Fitz's. "Best of luck with that, Dr." she said brightly. "In my experience, the challenging ones are the hardest to pin down."

Erik touched his forehead and nodded in deference. "Then I shall have to remain satisfied with the meager scraps of her time she currently allows me," he said. Noticing that Fitz was distracted by his food, he risked a wink.

Geri winked back with a smile. "Now Fitz," she said, pulling him away down the hall. "You were saying Emma was looking for me?"


	15. Chapter 15

Emma pushed a cup of tea in front of her daughter and sat down at the kitchen table opposite her. "Drink up, Jemma," she said consolingly. "It was a _lovely_ dinner."

"Lovely for _you_ maybe," Jemma moaned, sprawled over the table with her head buried in her crossed arms. " _You_ didn't have a different relative asking you every five minutes when it was going to be _your_ rehearsal." If it was this bad when they thought he was her _boyfriend_ how bad would it be if Tinny let slip that engagement rumour?

"Well," Emma clucked soothingly. "That's just because they all like Fitz so much." She smiled and patted her daughter's elbow understandingly.

"Yeah," Fitz chipped in from his spot by the fridge where he was digging around for some food. "It's just because they all think I'm such a bloody good catch." He still wasn't entirely clear on _why_ , but it seemed that Laura's mum just thought he was the best thing ever. And she wouldn't stop asking him about his political aspirations.

Jemma groaned through his derisive laughter, lifting her head only in order to bang it on the table twice before resting it on her forearms again.

"Don't do that!" Jezza rushed over to brush a calming hand through her hair. "Oh, my little Starshine," his large hand patted her back soothingly. He hated seeing her this upset. This ridiculous plan of the girls' was just turning everything all topsy-turvy. He was going to have to find some way to put a stop to it.

"And the kissing!" Jemma continued, distraught. People couldn't seem to get enough pictures of the two of them snogging each other's face off. 

"What was wrong with the kissing?" Fitz asked, frowning around a large apple. He'd thought he'd been doing pretty well at it. He knew Jemma was.

"Yes," Jezza agreed with a frown of his own. "I could have done without that, as well." They were entirely too convincing for people who were supposed to be only pretending to date.

Emma stood back up again to get a cup of tea for herself. Before turning to the kettle, however, she smacked her husband lightly on his backside. "Since when are _you_ a prude, Jeremy Simmons?" she asked with an arch look.

Jemma had looked up just in time to see this display. " _Mum_ ," she wailed, burying her face once more.

Emma leaned down and kissed the top of her daughter's head. "I'm sorry love," she apologized in a very unapologetic tone. "But you're old enough now to know that your father and I are just as in love as we were when we were your age, and we still express that love physically as often as we can manage."

Jemma groaned even louder while Fitz choked on his apple.

"What's all the ruckus in here about?" Evelyn asked as she and Geri entered the kitchen. "We were trying to watch my show but we couldn't hear the blessed television over all of the hysterics going on." Really, they'd been trying to eavesdrop from the study, but Evelyn's hearing wasn't what it once was. 

"Everything alright, Jemma?" Geri asked, her voice dripping with warning to remind her that Grandma Harris was the one Jemma and Fitz were supposed to convince about their relationship.

Jemma bit her tongue before saying anything that might catch them out in their lie and latched onto the last thing that had been said instead.

"Mum and Dad won't stop being gross," she whined, lifting her head and rolling her eyes for effect.

Jezza moved over behind his wife where she was pouring out her tea and wrapped his arms around her. "How is it 'gross' to give my wife the affection she so richly deserves?" he asked innocently. Then he goosed her.

"Jezza!" Emma gasped, almost spilling the tea. She put it down carefully and then turned to pull him down for a kiss.

"Ugh," Jemma huffed theatrically. "See?"

Geri laughed and sat down beside Jemma, stealing her untouched tea and snaking a biscuit as well. "People don't stop having sex after age 30, you know," she said with an arched brow. Or 40. Hell, she was pushing 50 and Erik didn't seem to mind that at all.

"Mum!" Fitz protested, looking thoroughly disgusted.

"What?" Geri asked innocently, snapping the biscuit in two and dunking half of it in her tea.

"Don't..." he searched for a word uncomfortably for a moment. Anything he could think of would make reference to his mother... doing that. "Just, don't," he concluded lamely.

"They don't stop after 70 either, you know," Evelyn said matter-of-factly as she settled herself into a chair at the head of the table.

Geri choked on her tea. Fitz dropped his apple. Emma and Jezza turned their heads toward her in unison. Jemma stared straight ahead at nothing.

Evelyn cackled and reached across to pinch Jemma's cheeks. "Bet you didn't think your old gran could still get it, did you?" she asked rhetorically.

"Did anyone else want tea?" Jezza asked into the sudden awkward silence.

"I thought you'd _never_ get around to asking," Evelyn nodded sharply. "And as for _you_ ," she pierced Fitz with a look. She hadn't needled him since before dessert. She was overdue.

"Yes?" he asked, still not quite able to look her in the eye, but dreading whatever fatal flaw she was going to find in him next.

"Do you routinely drop food on other people's floors and not pick it up?" she asked with a significant glance at his dropped apple.

"S-sorry," he apologized, diving down to pick it up.

"Now," Evelyn said, settling back as Emma brought her a cuppa. "You certainly seemed to be enjoying all of your attention this evening, Jemma," she said as she took a dainty sip.

"I... what?" Jemma asked, completely confused.

"Well," Evelyn continued, scanning the various biscuits on the plate in front of her before sniffing and dismissing them. "It seemed to me that you were having a _grand_ time showing off this Scottish ragamuffin you-"

"Ragamuffin!" Geri interrupted. "That is my _son_ you're speaking of, Evelyn!" She knew Evelyn had a part to play, but she seemed to be enjoying it a bit _too_ much.

"And I'm sure you love him as only a mother can," Evelyn said patronizingly. "But I don't care how much Victoria gushes on about him, I'd much rather see Jemma with someone like Mark."

"Mark!" Geri snorted.

" _Yes_ ," Evelyn nodded. "He's a nice young man from a nice, _local_ family, and he's got quite good prospects, what with his father's bakery to inherit and that genetic predisposition to utter beefiness."

"Mother!" Emma gasped, and this time she did spill her tea.

"F-  _Leo_ might not be... _beefy_ ," Jemma said, rising from the table and walking over to him. "But he's brilliant, and he's kind, and he's handsome!" she said, looping her arms around his waist protectively.

Fitz wrapped his arm around her shoulder to present a united front. "Thank you, Jemma," he said, pushing his shoulders back and trying to look confident.

Evelyn tutted and shook her head. "And what do _you_ think of all of this, Jezza?" she asked, glaring at her son-in-law. "Surely _you_ want someone a bit better for your only daughter?"

"I-" Jezza hesitated. He knew Evelyn was playing a part, trying to get a rise out of Jemma and Fitz, but the thing of it was, she just sounded so darned _convincing_. He was sure Geri was pretty offended, play-acting or not. And as for Jemma and Fitz. Well, if the point of all of this hullabaloo was for the two of them to end up together for real...

"It doesn't matter what _he_ wants," Jemma said angrily. Turning to her father, she gave him a wan look. "I'm sorry, Daddy," she apologized. "But," she turned back to her grandmother. "I love him and he loves me, and if you don't like it then," she took a deep breath. "Well, then I'll ask you to keep your opinions to yourself," she said firmly.

Everyone in the room was staring at her now, Fitz included, and she could feel the burning heat of a blush.

Finally, Fitz cleared his throat and dragged his eyes away from Jemma to glare at her grandmother. "That's right," he confirmed. "We love each other, and you can like it or lump it!"

"Leo!" Geri admonished. Then she pressed a hand to her mouth to hide her giggle.

Emma sniffled slightly and blinked her suddenly misty eyes. Moving over to the children, she wrapped them each in one of her arms to hug them. "Oh Darling," she said, kissing Jemma's cheek. "I had no idea!"

Jezza swallowed hard and stared from his daughter to her best friend and back again. "I thought you two were just dating?" he asked hoarsely.

Jemma looked down and curled her hair behind her ears. "We are, Daddy," she said quietly. "He's my boyfriend, and I love him." She looked up at him, hoping that he could tell from her expression that everything they'd talked about the night before was still true.

"Well, if you love each other _that_ much," Evelyn said distastefully, slurping the last of her tea and then standing up. "I expect we'll be hearing about _your_ engagement soon enough." She paused at the kitchen door before flouncing out. "And god help us all when we do."


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is dedicated to the lovely anon on tumblr who thanked me for updating so frequently. I don't know how long I can keep up the pace, but I think we'll all enjoy however long it lasts :D
> 
> it's also dedicated to all of the lovely people who have commented on this ridiculous, trope-a-licious fic of mine. Y'all keep me writing when I would otherwise just give up sometimes :D *mwah!*

"Sleep well, you two," Emma said with a wink as Jemma and Fitz got up from the table to go to bed.

Jemma sighed and rolled her eyes. " _Mum_ ," she said insistently. "I _told_ you we just said that because of Grandma."

"I know dear," Emma nodded with a patronizing tone in her voice. "So you keep saying." She kissed her daughter on the cheek and then gave Fitz's cheek a kiss, too.

Geri kissed both children's cheeks as well, and ruffled her son's hair. "You're making _me_ wonder if we might not want to change the sleeping arrangements, though," she said with a sly grin.

" _Mum_!" Fitz gasped, his face rapidly reddening. He looked over at Jezza rather desperately. "I swear, sir," he started, hands raised in self-defense.

Jezza nodded with a slightly worried furrow to his brow. "It's alright, Fitz," he reassured him. He didn't sound at all sure, however, and rather looked like he could use some emotional propping up of his own.

Jemma went over to where her father was standing by the window and enveloped him in a hug, pressing her cheek against his barrel chest. "Don't you listen to them, Daddy," she whispered for his ears only, standing on her tiptoes so that she could kiss his fuzzy cheek as he leaned down.

"Don't you either, Cassiopeia," he murmured back, planting a kiss on the crown of her head. "And make sure that boy behaves himself."

" _Dad!_ " Jemma whispered, trying to keep her scandalized expression between the two of them. "I _told_ you, we're just _friends_!"

"Let her get to bed, Jezza," Emma urged him. "Or are you trying to make sure she's so tired they can't mess about?"

Fitz startled again, shaking his head vehemently in the negative. His wide eyes were trained on Jezza, and he was suddenly realizing just _how_ large Jemma's father really was.

"Go on, sweetheart," Geri urged him with a hug. "Before you spontaneously combust from all of that blushing."

Fitz groaned and buried his face in his hands before turning and slouching his way out into the hall. Jemma followed rapidly behind him, escaping before any further comments came her way.

Emma and Geri strained their ears for a moment after they left, and then Evelyn came back into the room. "They've gone up," she said, rubbing her hands with glee. "So, are we taking any bets?"

Jezza groaned and sank into a chair.

\---------------------------------

Jemma returned to her bedroom from the bathroom and rather self-consciously removed her housecoat. It was strange, feeling self-conscious in front of Fitz, and she didn't like it at all.

"Bit of an odd day, wasn't it?" Fitz said sheepishly, a half-smile on his face. When he'd woken up that morning, he'd never kissed ~~Simm~~ \- Jemma before, and now he'd kissed her more than a dozen times. And kissing her had been... nice.

"Very... busy," Jemma agreed, smiling back briefly and then crawling into bed. She'd started the day with a best friend and had somehow ended up with a fiance before dinner. And now her parents were downstairs thinking that she'd gained a lover.

Fitz nodded broadly in agreement, "You can say _that_ again." He finished folding his clothes and putting them on her desk chair and then moved over to the bed. Unlike the previous two nights, however, he paused before getting in.

Jemma looked up at him where he stood next to her bed, his face clearly anxious. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't know how to start. She knew exactly how he felt. She felt the same way. There was a strange sort of tightness in her chest at the thought of sharing a bed with Fitz that hadn't been there before, and she wasn't sure what to do about it.

Fitz looked down at Jemma, her hair fanned out on the pillow and her arms resting on top of the duvet that covered her, and he was struck by how pretty she was. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying not to think about that, and then got into bed beside her. Reaching out to the bedside lamp, he turned it off, plunging them into darkness.

"Well, g'night," he whispered, his whole body tense as he tried not to stray onto her side of the bed.

"G'night," she whispered back, rolling onto her side with her back to him and lying right on the edge of the mattress.

\---------------------------------

"Evelyn, you are a _genius_ ," Emma crowed quietly. "Declarations of _love!_ "

"I _know_!" Geri chimed in. "I thought it would take us at _least_ two more days before we even got them to _kiss_ , and look at them!"

Evelyn preened smugly. "If there's one thing I know about the women in our family," she said with a wink. "It's that as soon as you tell us _not_ to do something, we run headlong right into it."

Emma laughed and nodded. "Like when you told me what a fool I was for agreeing to marry a man I'd barely known for four weeks."

"You what?" Jezza frowned, coming out of his thoughts at this revelation. "I didn't know that!"

"Oh yes," Emma nodded emphatically. "Mother here practically locked me in my room, she was so insistent I refuse your proposal."

"You never indicated..." he said, peering at Evelyn quizzically.

"Of course not," she waved him off. "I knew you were just the one for Emma here when you waited til she'd defended her thesis before proposing." She smiled warmly. "The fact that you were willing to move wherever she got a teaching position helped as well."

"Well," Jezza brought himself up to his full height a bit awkwardly. "I mean, I couldn't very well expect _her_ to follow _me_ , now could I?"

Emma wrapped her arms around his waist and pinched his bum. "I'd have followed you anywhere, and you know it," she smiled at him fondly.

Geri sighed and rested her hand on her palm. "That's what I want for my son," she said, nodding in their direction. "That kind of mutual love and adoration. Not the constant struggle I had with my ex." Her lip quirked in a wry smile. "Neither one of us was willing to compromise at all on our dreams for the other, no matter how much we loved each other, and that's just not a recipe for happiness." She shrugged with a sigh. "But then, that's what you get with two type A people in the same relationship, isn't it?"

Evelyn nodded. "My Tom was as headstrong as a bull and as stubborn as a mule, and so am I," she chuckled. "But when it came right down to it, we always did what we had to for _both_ of us to be happy, and we were. For almost forty years." Her eyes misted over slightly as she remembered her husband, dead only three years. "And those two children up there are just the same."

Emma and Geri nodded in agreement, and even Jezza had to admit that Evelyn had a point.

"Alright," Geri said, clasping her hands together in front of her on the table. "So, tomorrow..."

\---------------------------------

"Fitz?" Jemma barely whispered. She wasn't sure if she wanted him to be awake or not, but she couldn't keep quiet any longer.

"Yeah?" he whispered back.

She rolled over and sought out his profile in the dim light coming through her bedroom curtains. "I'm sorry I got so upset over the fiance business," she apologized.

Fitz rolled toward her, trying to see her features in the darkness. "I'm sorry I lost my head like that," he apologized in turn. "It's just... They were calling you a-"

"I know," she interrupted. "And I appreciate the thought, but-"

"-Not my best idea, I know."

They lay there quietly for a moment, and then Jemma started giggling.

"What?" Fitz asked, not seeing what was so funny about their situation.

"Did you see their faces when you said it, though?" Jemma grinned.

Fitz snorted at the memory. "Like someone had poleaxed them."

"Oh, that felt good," Jemma laughed.

"At least my complete, blind panic makes you smile," Fitz grinned back.

"Always."

"And what about _you_? Declaring your love for me in front of all of our parents?" He scoffed. "I would have expected Dr. Jemma Simmons to think a bit better on her feet."

"Hush, you," Jemma pouted, smacking his arm. "It shut up my gran, didn't it?"

"It got her to leave the room, at least," he agreed.

A friendly silence settled over the room once more. Then Fitz barked out a laugh.

"What?" Jemma asked.

"Just... imagine your grandmother's face if Tinny lets slip about our _engagement_."

"Oh my god," Jemma gasped in delight. "I almost want to tell her ourselves, just to see it."

"How about we save that for the _next_ trip?" Fitz suggested with a laugh. "I'd like to _survive_ this one."

"She wouldn't kill you," Jemma said dismissively. Then she paused, considering. "I don't think."

"Oi!" Fitz protested. "Is that any way to comfort your intended?"

"Sorry, _darling_ ," Jemma apologized sarcastically. "I didn't realize a 72-year-old grandmother was such a fearsome opponent."

"That's because she hasn't been coming after _you_ for the last two days."

"True."

They settled back onto their backs, looking up at the shadows playing across Jemma's ceiling, neither one talking or feeling the need to say anything. They'd migrated toward the centre of the bed without realizing it, and Fitz's left arm and leg were pressed up against Jemma's right ones.

After a few minutes of companionable silence, Jemma spoke up again, more softly this time.

"Fitz?" she whispered.

"Yeah? he answered, just as quietly.

"About the- the kissing," she said a bit nervously.

"Mmhmm?" he asked, not sure what to say.

"I didn't mean the _kisses_ were bad, you know, when I was complaining about it," she explained quickly. "I just meant it was horrible having to do it in front of all of my relatives like that."

"Oh," Fitz said. He blinked a few times. "So..."

"Mmhmm?"

"You...," he cleared his throat awkwardly. "The kissing was... good?" he asked, feeling a tightness in his chest as he awaited her response.

"Very," she whispered back.

They lay there quietly again, but this time the silence was charged with something that made them both feel rather tense.

"Jemma?" Fitz finally said.

"Yes?" she whispered back, not sure what she wanted him to say.

"I thought the kissing was pretty brilliant."

"Oh."

"Yes."

"Well then."

"Mmhmm."

The silence stretched out longer than it had throughout their conversation, and then even longer still.

Finally, the blankets rustled with the movements under them, and then the only sounds in the room were sighs.


	17. Chapter 17

The sun was streaming in Jemma's bedroom window, muted slightly by her curtains, and was trying to wake them up. Snuggled as they were under bedclothes, neither Jemma nor Fitz was particularly interested in being awakened, however, and they pressed a bit closer together on the mattress instead.

[ ](http://memorizingthedigitsofpi.tumblr.com/post/122564611302)

Unfortunately, their peaceful slumber was destined to be disturbed.

The quiet creaking of her bedroom door opening gave way to a sudden shout. "Morning!" Evelyn yelled at them cheerfully.

Jemma startled awake at the same time as Fitz and pushed herself away from him to turn to the door. "Grandma?" she asked with a nervous little gasp. She felt guilty and she didn't even know why.

Fitz, already moving away from her on the mattress after the shout, ended up falling off the side of her bed and landing with a soft thump on the carpet. He groaned from his now-prone position but decided that getting up and facing life could wait another minute or two.

"Looks like you know a thing or two about knocking a girl up, after all," Evelyn laughed raunchily.

"Oh god," Jemma moaned, rolling onto her stomach and burying her face in her pillow. She could have _sworn_ her grandmother hadn't been this embarrassing when her grandfather had still been alive. Was this her way of mourning?

Fitz covered his face with his arms, burying his eyes in the crook of his elbow. Maybe if he just stayed down here he wouldn't have to face anyone ever again.

"Now stop canoodling and come down to breakfast. We've a busy day ahead." Evelyn started to close the door but then paused with it halfway open. "I'll just leave this like this," she said. "So you don't get distracted."

After Evelyn had left and they were listening to the stairs creak on her way down them, Fitz risked a peek over the edge of the bed.

"Jemma?" he asked, not quite believing what he was about to say.

"Yeah?" she answered, lifting her head up to look over at him.

"Does your gran think we had sex last night?"

Jemma looked at him helplessly for a moment and then buried her face in her pillow again.

Fitz fell back on the floor with a groan. "That's what I thought."

\------------------------------------

"Pay up," Evelyn said smugly as she entered the kitchen. She held out one hand in front of her with a grabbing motion.

"What?" Jezza asked, turning toward her with a horrified look. Then he swore when he smelled the eggs starting to burn.

"They're together?" Emma asked eagerly, putting down the pitcher of orange juice in order to rush over to her mother.

"Are you sure?" Geri asked, joining her with her hands still full of cutlery.

"What did you see?"

"How do you know?"

"Did they say something?"

"What-"

" _Calm down_ ," Evelyn chuckled, preening slightly at all of the attention. "Give me some breathing room, and I'll tell you."

"Alright," Geri said, taking a step back. "But hurry up because they'll be down here any moment."

"Not after what _I_ saw," Evelyn said archly. She sat down at the head of the table and surveyed the group around her.

"What do you mean?" Jezza frowned as he binned the ruined eggs.

"Well," Evelyn said, settling more comfortably into her chair and getting ready to tell a grand story. "I opened the door to wake them up, and they were-"

"Morning," Jemma said brightly as she entered the kitchen. She inhaled deeply with a smile on her face. "That coffee smells _lovely_."

Fitz was yawning as he followed her in, so he merely waved as he trooped over to his seat at the table.

Geri and Emma exchanged a look. Geri raised a brow and Emma nodded. Geri continued making her way around the table, laying out the cutlery, and Emma moved over to the counter to get the coffee carafe.

"You're awfully chipper this morning, Jemma," Geri observed. "Did you have a good night?"

"Excellent, yes," Jemma nodded happily. She looked over to where Fitz was still scrubbing the sleep out of his eyes and took his cup from his place setting to put in the sugar. "And you?" she asked, as she counted spoonsful to herself. "Did you sleep well?"

"Like a baby," Geri said, watching in fascination.

After Emma filled Fitz's coffee cup, Jemma added the cream and stirred before replacing it in front of him. She then grabbed a croissant and spread it with butter and more jam than was really recommended and added it to his plate along with two sausages and some bacon. These tasks complete, she elbowed Fitz out of his slouch and he nodded his thanks to her before diving into his breakfast.

"And you, Fitz?" Emma asked, just as distracted by display her daughter had just put on. "How did you sleep?"

"Alright," he shrugged. "Except Jemma kept waking me up all night."

A cracking noise behind them was followed immediately by a splatter and then Jezza swearing again. They all turned to look and saw him standing at the fry pan with a crushed egg all over his hand and dripping on the floor.

"Oops," he said grumpily. Then he moved to clean up his mess.

"I did _not_ , F- _Leo_ ," Jemma disagreed, peeking over at her grandmother to see if she'd noticed her almost-slip up.

"Maybe _you_ didn't," Fitz conceded, bringing his jammy croissant up to take a large bite. "But your icy toes certainly did."

"You two certainly looked snug when I went to wake you up this morning," Evelyn piped up. "I should think it would be _impossible_ to be cold in _that_ position."

Jezza swore again as an egg slipped through his fingers and fell to the floor.

Jemma blushed and took a large sip of too-hot coffee. "Grandma!" she spluttered, coughing slightly as the scalding liquid made its way down her throat. "You make it sound like-" she stopped abruptly and looked over at her father. "We were _sleeping_."

"What _else_ would they be doing?" Jezza demanded, his usually happy face clouding over.

"Maybe we won't have eggs this morning," Emma said quickly, moving over to where he was about to pick up another one from the carton. She laid a gentle hand on his wrist and stroked along his fingers to calm him down.

Fitz's face was buried in his breakfast, but his ears were a tell-tale shade of pink.

Geri looked from Jezza to her son and back and decided that changing the topic was probably the best course of action.

"Alright, ladies," she said, settling down to her own breakfast. "What's the beautification schedule for today?"


	18. Chapter 18

Breakfast ended with a flurry of activity as the ladies of the house prepared to go to the salon where the bridal party were being made up, and the gentlemen got ready to... well, they were going to amuse themselves as best they could for the next three hours or so.

Jemma waited in the upstairs hallway outside of the bathroom, wishing Fitz would just _hurry up_ already because she had to _go._

"Jemma!" called her mother from the bottom of the steps.

"Just a moment!" she called back.

The door handle turned, and then Fitz was standing there and they looked at each other awkwardly. They hadn't had a chance to be alone together all morning beyond the hurried few seconds after her grandmother had woken them up. They hadn't wanted to linger in her room after _that_ because who knew _what_ the old biddy might be telling their parents. Still, they had things they needed to discuss.

"Fitz-" Jemma started, taking a half step forward.

"About last night-" Fitz said at the same time, moving toward her as well.

They both laughed nervously and looked down for a moment.

"You first," Fitz said gallantly. Or was it just that discretion was the better part of valour?

"Well," Jemma said, hesitating as she curled her hair behind her ears. "When I was-"

"Fitz!" Jezza called up from the landing. "We'll be late!"

"Coming!" Fitz called down. He turned back to Jemma with a nervous look. "You mean when we were-" Fitz said, waggling a finger back and forth between them.

"Jemma!" Emma called up again.

"Coming!" Jemma shouted down.

They looked at each other helplessly for a moment, both wishing they had the time to talk to each other properly.

"Look," Fitz said, rubbing a hand along the back of his neck and into his hair. "I didn't mean for you to-"

"Come _on_!" Geri urged.

"Give us a moment!" Jemma shouted back a bit desperately. Turning to Fitz she shook her head. "Don't apologize," she insisted. "Really!"

"But-"

A slow footfall on the stairs alerted them that they were about to be interrupted.

"Honestly," Evelyn said as she pulled herself up the banister far enough to see them. "I know you're young and all, but the rest of us have places to be, so if you _could_ rein in the hormones for _just_ a moment..." she shook her head and tutted before turning and descending again.

Jemma and Fitz both closed their eyes and sighed.

"Later?"

"Later."

\------------------------------------

Jemma pretended to be fascinated by the colour palette in front of her as she sat at the manicuring station in the salon. Because her attendance at the wedding had been a last minute decision (made by her mother rather than herself, at that), they hadn't been able to book her a hair appointment with the rest of the ladies, but they _had_ managed to squeeze her in for her nails and makeup.

Unfortunately, her nail appointment was alongside Laura. Thus her being wholly engrossed in something that would normally hold her attention for a minimal amount of time.

Finally, when she could no longer avoid the impatient expression on the manicurist's face, Jemma chose a light shade of gold that would look nice with her dress and sat back to allow the woman to do her job.

Laura's hands were already soaking, and she also seemed to be avoiding her cousin's eyes, and therefore conversation.

After an awkward and tense few minutes, Laura looked around to make sure their mothers wouldn't overhear her.

"Tinny's got a big mouth," she said with a disgruntled sigh.

"You're just now discovering this?" Jemma asked drying, keeping her eyes on the table.

"Look," Laura said, turning to her cousin and giving her a frank look. "I know we've had our differences in the past."

"Hah!" Jemma barked. "There's an understatement! You were horrid to me!"

"Well, I'm sorry I couldn't be bloody _perfect_ like _you_ ," Laura bristled. "But I was just an average kid being held up against my _genius_ cousin every five minutes and always found to be wanting!" She turned again, her back ramrod straight. "What was _your_ excuse?"

"Mine!" Jemma gasped in surprise.

"All those cutting remarks that you _knew_ I didn't understand," Laura muttered. "All of those patronizing looks when I'd come home from school with a good mark on a test, and there _you_ were working on a bloody _thesis_."

" _My_ cutting remarks?" Jemma threw back. "What about you and Tinny? How many times did you call me ugly and awkward and un-date-able?"

"All _you_ had to do to spot the lie was look in a mirror!" Laura argued. "I've never been more than the dumb blonde next to you."

Jemma paused with her mouth open as she started to realize just what Laura was saying. Yes, Laura and Tinny had been terrible to her when they were children, but she hadn't been much better. She'd just been smarter about it.

She looked over at her cousin and saw the telltale signs of a woman trying not to cry. She was intimately familiar with the feeling. Her heart went out to her cousin and, taking a deep breath, she decided it was time they started mending fences.

"I used to have a crush on Mark," she said quietly.

"W-what?" Laura said, still blinking rapidly.

"Mark," Jemma repeated. "I had a massive crush on him when we were 16."

"I didn't know that," Laura said with a sniff.

"Well, you wouldn't would you?," Jemma said wryly. "It's not like I'd have confided that to his girlfriend."

Laura pressed her lips together and nodded. She seemed to come to a decision.

"Tinny's got a crush on Leo," she whispered. "But don't tell her I said anything. She'd _kill_ me!"

"She-" Jemma blinked and looked over at the other woman where she was getting her hair curled within an inch of its life. "What?"

"She thought he was just another cousin when he showed up at the rehearsal and she asked _me_ , as her best friend in the world, to set her up with him."

"So she was angry with me because-"

"Because not only did you show up back here after living in _America_ and working in some _glamourous_ job that the likes of us can't even understand, but you _also_ showed up with the one bloke at this whole wedding that she'd most like to, well..."

Jemma gulped. "I see," she whispered.

\------------------------------------

Fitz kept running a hand through his newly-shorn locks as he and Jezza chatted amicably with Erik in the cafe at his hotel. His mother had insisted he get a proper cut, but this seemed a bit much to him. It was so short you couldn't tell at all that he had curls, which he privately thought was probably to the better, but it was also so short that he looked practically blonde! Blonde!

"...Thank you again for your help the other day, Leo," Erik was saying.

" _Please_ ," Fitz insisted. "Call me Fitz."

"But your moth-" Erik caught himself short and took a quick sip of coffee to cover his slip. "I thought you went by Leo?" he said casually. "At least, that's how you were being addressed at drinks yesterday."

Fitz sighed and shook his head. "Don't even get me _started_ on _that_ whole mess," he said vehemently.

"Nor _me_ ," Jezza said just as emphatically. Much as he missed his daughter and much as he liked Fitz, he was starting to think that this entire trip home had been a mistake.

Erik looked from one man to the other in confusion. "It seems there might be a story here?" he asked curiously.

Jezza and Fitz both sighed mightily.

"Dr. Liikanen," Fitz started.

"Erik," Erik insisted.

" _Erik_ ," Fitz began again. "Have you ever been roped into doing something utterly ridiculous because a woman told you to do it?"

Erik sputtered a bit as he considered how he and Geri were sneaking around like a couple of high schoolers because she didn't want her son to find out that she was dating again. "Mmhmm," he nodded weakly.

"Well," Fitz sighed. " _We're,_ " he gestured between himself and Jezza, "being directed by _four_ women."

Jezza nodded miserably. "And they're all working at cross-purposes," he added.

"Except my mum and Jemma's," Fitz corrected.

"But otherwise they're just moving us around like pawns."

"Calling all of the shots."

"Making all of the decisions."

"And we just have to go along with it."

"Because we love them," Jezza quirked an ironic smile and raised his cup in salute.

"We do," Fitz sighed and clinked his mug with Jezza's.

"I know _exactly_ what you mean," Erik nodded, raising his mug to join theirs. "To the women we love!"

They all tossed back the dregs of their coffee and then called the server around for more.

\------------------------------------

As the women were gathering their things and getting ready to leave the salon, Laura sidled up to Jemma one more time and pulled her aside from the group. She looked around once more to make sure no one was listening in and then leaned in close to whisper to her cousin.

"You're a doctor, right?"

"Well," Jemma hesitated. "I mean, _yes_ , but-"

"I'm only eight weeks," Laura said quickly.

"Oh?" Jemma said, looking around and wondering how to get out of the conversation.

"So I'd really appreciate it if you'd resist the temptation to get a good dig in today and tell everyone," Laura continued. "Because I don't want to say anything until..."

"Three months," Jemma nodded.

"Right."

"Right."

"So...?" Laura asked, eyebrows raised in supplication.

"Mum's the word," Jemma agreed. What was one more secret?


	19. Chapter 19

Geri gave herself one last glance in the mirror as she slipped on her shoes. Her dress was of a classic cut and rather plain in both colour and pattern. Today was a day to play the politician, and no good politician would upstage a bride on her wedding day. Or her mother, for that matter.

She shook her head as she slipped her earrings in. Victoria Newgate was going to drive her completely batty if they ended up alone again, she just knew it. But it wasn't like she'd have Erik with her to act as a shield. Or as a distraction. No, the only way he'd have been invited would be as _her_ date, and that... Well, that was a bit more serious than she was comfortable with.

Or so she kept telling herself.

Her eyes flicked over to her bag where a black velvet box was tucked away in a pocket. Erik had insisted she keep it until she'd decided for sure against marrying him. He thought that as long as she was still considering it, however vaguely, the ring inside it belonged to her.

She bit her lip and shook her head, focusing again on the mirror. Now was not the time.

"Right," she said, taking a deep determined breath. "Focus."

* * *

Fitz shrugged into his new suit jacket and looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. New suit, new haircut, fresh shave. He raised his brows as his mouth tilted down. "Not bad," he muttered to himself in mild surprise. Maybe he _was_ a catch.

He looped his new silk tie around his neck and then paused with one end in each hand. He looked from the tie to his mirrored face, consternation plainly written on his features. Marcel had warned him that if he made a mistake in tying it, he'd have to iron it because the creases would show. And if there was anything Fitz hated to do, it was iron. "Right," he decided. "Jezza."

* * *

Evelyn sprayed the inside of her wrists with Chanel No. 5 and then touched them to her neck, just behind her ears. Not so much to smell like a floozy, but just enough to give a fellow a whiff during a dance.

She smiled to herself as she adjusted her pearls around her neck. If Mark and his brothers were any indication of the rest of his family, she was going to _enjoy_ this reception. As long as a few widowers had been invited.

"Right," she said, pushing her shoulders back and winking at the mirror. "Knock 'em dead."

She paused, considering the ages of the individuals involved. She sighed out a chuckle and corrected herself. "Knock their socks off."

* * *

Jemma sighed and grumbled under her breath as she struggled her way into the brightly-coloured sheath dress the mums had talked her into getting. While she agreed that the fuchsia tone did wonders for her complexion, she wasn't so enamoured of what it meant for her undergarments.

"Ruddy Spanx," she cursed as she tried to get the dress to sit properly over her hips.

Looking in her bedroom mirror, she nodded her final approval. It might not be worth the trouble, but it _was_ rather a flattering outfit. And the salon that morning had actually had the perfect shade of lipstick to go with it. If she could only _find_ the bloody thing.

"Right," she blew out a breath. "Mum."

* * *

"Oh, _Jezza-bear_ ," Emma tutted anxiously. "Have you seen my shoes?"

Jezza emerged from their en suite bathroom to find himself presented with his wife's luscious behind as she bent over and searched under their bed. He paused with a smile to enjoy the view for a moment.

"Which ones, Emma-love?" he asked as he buttoned his shirtsleeves.

"The slingbacks with the kitten heel," she specified, still rummaging around under the bedskirt.

Jezza's grin broadened as he crept up behind her. Then, feeling mischievous, he smacked her right on her pert little bottom.

Emma yelped and gasped out a scandalized, "Jezza!"

"Well, if you _will_ present an irresistible target," Jezza winked down at her.

Emma winked back with a devilish grin of her own. " _Later_ ," she said.

"Promise?" Jezza asked, sitting down on the bed and looking hopeful.

"If you help me find my shoes," Emma bargained, standing up and kissing him briefly. "I could have _sworn_..." She trailed off as her eyes followed Jezza's quickly raised finger, pointing to the corner behind their bedroom door. "Oh."

"Is it 'later' yet?" Jezza asked, waggling his eyebrows comically.

Emma laughed and was about to reply when she was interrupted by a knock on their door. "Yes?"

"Erm, it's, uh, Fitz," came an awkward voice.

Emma opened the door for him to enter. "What can we do for you, Fitz?" she asked. Then, taking in his appearance, she smiled at him broadly. "And don't you look _handsome_!" she said appreciatively. "Isn't he handsome, Jezza?" she asked, turning to her husband.

Jezza took in the man standing in front of him and realized that Fitz was in his mid-twenties now. He wasn't the gawky 17-year-old Jemma had first brought home from the Academy anymore. He was a grown man, earning a solid living, doing important work with important people, and supporting his daughter in doing the same thing. There were certainly worse things that could happen in the world than his little girl, he mentally corrected himself, _his daughter_ , falling in love with an honest and intelligent man like Leopold Fitz.

Clearing his throat, Jezza nodded and stood up. "Yes," he said a bit gruffly. "Quite."

Fitz blushed around his ears and ducked his head briefly. "I was wondering if Jezza could," he looked at Emma, then shifted his glance to Jezza. "That is, if _you_ could, sir..." he licked his lips nervously and held out his tie.

Emma smiled to herself as she watched her husband take her daughter's best-friend-cum-boyfriend into their en suite to discuss the vagaries of tying silk ties.

She was just slipping into her shoes when another knock sounded on her partially-opened door. "Yes?" she said again as it swung inward.

"Have you got that lipstick from the salon?" Jemma asked as she came in. "Only I can't find it in my bag."

"Oh! Yes," Emma nodded, moving toward her vanity before stopping short in the middle of he room. "Now, where did I put it?"

She had just managed to dig her purse out from where it had fallen behind her slipper chair when she heard Jemma let out a soft, "Oh."

"What's that dear?" she asked, producing the lipstick triumphantly. Then she looked up and saw her daughter staring wide-eyed at something on the other side of the room.

"Wow," Fitz said, emerging from the en suite to find Jemma standing in the bedroom all dressed for the wedding. "You look-" he swallowed what he wanted to say, very aware that Jezza was standing behind him.

Jemma nodded and swallowed hard. "You too," she said a bit breathlessly.

Emma's eyes met her husband's over the heads of the children. She gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up, and then she mouthed, "I told you so!"

Jezza looked from his wife to the children and realized that if there was one thing he had control over, it wasn't this.

"Right," he nodded and jutted his thumb toward the door. "Shall we?"


	20. Chapter 20

Jemma was starting to feel a bit like she and Fitz were the President and Vice President of the United States or something. That was the only reason she could think of why it seemed like the two of them couldn't ever ride in the same car together. With 6 adults all traveling together she realized that they wouldn't all fit in one vehicle, but it felt like some sort of diabolical _plan_ to separate them now that they needed so much to _talk_.

She bit her lip and looked out the window in the back of her Dad's Citroen and thought about the previous night. They had talked about all of the strange and unexpected things that had been happening this trip, and it had been brilliant. And then they'd _stopped_ talking, and that had been brilliant, too. But now...

"Time to come back to Earth, my little astronaut," Jezza smiled, looking at her in the rearview window as he opened his door.

"Hmm?" Jemma asked vaguely. She blinked and refocused and saw they were parked outside of the church.

"You were a million miles away," Emma turned around and smiled. "Thinking about Fitz?" she asked eagerly.

Jemma felt herself flush. "W-what?" she stuttered. "No! Not at all!" She concentrated on unbuckling her seatbelt, hoping to distract her mother from that line of questioning. Looking up, she saw that her hope had been in vain. "W-why would I be thinking about Fitz?" she asked, her voice rising a bit too much at the end. She cursed her inability to lie convincingly. She belonged to an actual _spy_ organization. At some point, she was really going to have to learn to get the hang of that.

Emma raised an eyebrow and reached out to pat her knee. "Take your time, dear," she said patiently. "I'll be ready whenever you are."

"Ready?" Jemma asked weakly. But she was talking to an empty car. Her parents had already gotten out.

* * *

"Slow down, Leo," Evelyn ordered him, using her clutch to rap the hand that was looped through her arm.

"But-" Fitz started, silencing himself as soon as she pinned him with a glare. He'd promised his mother he'd play nice for the day, but Evelyn certainly wasn't making it easy on him.

"When entering a church with a lady," Evelyn instructed him out of the corner of her mouth while smiling and nodding regally to the people who were already seated. "You need to walk slowly enough that everyone can take in and appreciate her full majesty."

Fitz nodded in agreement while simultaneous chafing at the slow pace of their walk down the aisle. Why she hadn't allowed one of the ushers to bring her in, he didn't know. He could only assume it was because making his life hell was her greatest form of entertainment.

Evelyn looked at him peevishly as they hit the mid-way mark of the aisle. "Jemma _insists_ that you're clever, but I'd never be able to tell based on your conversation," she observed.

Fitz gritted his teeth and tried to smile at the various relatives who were waving and taking pictures.

"It's not bad enough that you're _Scottish_ , but to be a _tradesman_ as well?" she tutted. "Honestly, _what_ is Jemma _thinking_?"

"I'm not a _tradesman_ ," Fitz corrected her. "I'm an _engineer_."

"Oh, and riding the rails is that much better, is it?" Evelyn asked sharply. "Just there," she pointed imperiously to the second row. "With the family."

"Not that kind of engineer," Fitz grumbled as he lead her to her seat.

"What was that?" Evelyn asked him in exactly the kind of tone that made him want to tell her just what she could do with her massive hat. "Don't mumble, boy! I have a hard enough time understanding you as it is!"

It was appropriate that they were in a church at that moment because Fitz felt he needed not only God but Jesus.

* * *

Jemma looked at Geri in surprise as Fitz's mother sniffled into a kleenex beside her.

"Are you alright?" she whispered, leaning in close so as not to disturb the ceremony.

"It's just," Geri sniffled, her chin wobbling slightly. "They look s-s-so _happy_ ," she explained before muffling herself with her tissue once more.

Jemma nodded as if that made perfect sense. She wondered if there might be something wrong with her that she was practically the only dry eye in the house. Looking around surreptitiously, she caught Fitz's eye on the other side of his mother.

Fitz pointed to Geri and mouthed to Jemma, "What's wrong?"

Jemma shrugged and mouthed back, "She cries at weddings."

They shared a confused frown and a resigned shrug and then turned back to the altar to listen to the bride and groom exchanging vows.

* * *

"See?" Jezza said outside the church after the ceremony. "Bad rehearsal makes for an excellent wedding. What did I tell you?"

Emma held her hat on with one hand in the breeze and pulled her husband down by his tie with the other. After giving him a kiss that lasted perhaps two seconds too long for the front steps of a house of God, she smiled up at him. "That," she said simply. "You told me _that_."

Jezza smoothed his tie down and adjusted his jacket on his shoulders, clearing his throat as his ears tinged pink. "Yes," he nodded. "Right. Well." He looked at the various friends and family ranged about them. "Excellent."

Emma smirked in satisfaction and reached into her purse to reapply her lipstick.

"Just the family now!" the photographer was calling out.

Fitz and Geri stepped off to the side, smiling at the happy couple and shielding their eyes from the sun.

"Leo!" Laura called out, gesturing with her bouquet. "Get in here!"

Fitz's eyes widened in surprise. "Me?" he asked, looking around as if a second Leo might appear out of thin air.

"Yes, you!" Laura laughed, clearly almost exploding with joy. "You'll be family soon enough!"

He felt himself turn almost the same shade as Jemma's dress as their eyes met across the heads of her younger cousins. "I don't think-" Jemma started.

Laura winked at her broadly. "I know he's _just your boyfriend_ ," she said significantly. "But I want him in the picture." She looked dreamily at her new husband, Mark, and her smile got somehow even bigger. "He belongs here too."

Fitz awkwardly remounted the steps and took his place next to Jemma, putting his arm around her at the photographer's direction.

Jemma smiled a bit stiffly and tried not to think about Laura deciding it would be alright to announce her 'engagement' after all. 


	21. Chapter 21

Jezza bit the inside of his cheek as he watched Jemma and Fitz chat with two of the bridesmaids and an usher. Fitz still had his hand resting on the small of her back and Jemma was still fiddling with the braided band of metal Fitz had given her for her birthday. True, she was wearing it on her right middle finger, and it wasn't the sort of thing one would propose with, but... She seemed to fiddle with it any time the two of them were together, and Jezza was rapidly coming to conclusions about what it might mean.

"Emma?" he started, still watching the young people laughing together.

"Yes, dear?" she asked as she finished wiping some chocolate off the ring-bearer's face with a damp tissue and stood back up.

"About what Laura said," he continued, reaching up to scratch at his beard.

"What did Laura say?" Emma asked, tucking the used tissue into a pocket of her handbag.

"About Fitz being a member of the family soon," he squinted at his daughter and her purported best friend.

"From her lips to God's ears," Emma smiled, waving enthusiastically at Laura's younger siblings as they chased each other around the churchyard.

"Yes," Jezza nodded, lost in thought. "Quite." He squinted again at Jemma's fidgeting. "Indeed."

* * *

Fitz pulled Jemma along by their joined hands, heading to the parking lot.

"Slow down, Fitz!" Jemma laughed, amused by his quick pace.

"How much family have you _got_ , anyway?" Fitz asked, clearly frustrated.

"Well, to be fair," Jemma argued teasingly. "I'm only related to _half_ of these people. The rest belong to Mark."

"I don't care _who_ they belong to," he argued back. "There's too damn many of them, and they're all over the bloody place."

They'd reached his mother's car and he pulled open the door to the backseat and hustled her in.

"Fitz! What are-" Jemma asked, only to be interrupted by him sliding in next to her and wrapping his arms around her. "Oh!" she gasped, her eyes widening.

Fitz gulped, taking in her surprise and hoping he wasn't overstepping. "We haven't had two minutes alone all day, and I really wanted to-" he stopped short and relaxed his hold. "I mean-"

Jemma interrupted him in turn, taking his face between her hands and smiling softly. "I've really wanted to, as well," she said quietly.

"You have?" Fitz asked, his face lighting up as he tightened his grip on her waist again.

"Mmhmm," Jemma nodded. She closed her eyes and leaned in.

Fitz leaned in as well, his eyes drifting shut.

**HONK! HONKHONKHONK! HONK!**

They sprang apart at the sudden noise.

" _What_ the _hell_?" Fitz cursed, looking around for who he had to kill.

And that's when the bride and groom drove past, to the merry accompaniment of every horn in the car park.

* * *

"Evelyn Harris," Evelyn said, holding her hand out, palm-down. "And you are?"

The dapper gentleman of indeterminate years she was speaking to grasped her fingers gently in his own and kissed the back of her hand. "Chester Vyse," he said, bowing slightly.

" _Very_ nice to meet you, Mr. Vyse," Evelyn said, raising one perfectly sculpted eyebrow and smiling archly. "And where is _Mrs_. Vyse?" she asked, looking around the churchyard and allowing him the chance to investigate her decolletage.

Chester grinned rakishly back. "In back of the church," he said with a wink.

"Oh?" Evelyn asked, trying not to feel _too_ disappointed. She'd started with the most promising of the lot, after all. What were the odds she'd strike gold on the first try?

"Yes," Chester nodded, pulling a pipe out of his jacket pocket. "She's got a lovely headstone. Marble."

"Oh," Evelyn said in a very different tone. Perhaps she'd had beginner's luck after all.

* * *

Geri stood outside the reception hall staring at her cell phone. To be more specific, she was staring at Erik's contact page in her cell phone.

"Why did I ever give up smoking?" she muttered to herself as she shook her head and tossed it back into her bag. It hit something solid and she looked in to see what it was and found herself confronted with the small velvet box. "Damnit," she muttered, closing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder.

She was just turning to go back inside when Victoria Newgate came out of the door.

"Oh, Geri!" she gushed happily. Then she proceeded to look a bit guilty.

"Victoria," Geri greeted her a bit stiffly. "Lovely ceremony."

"Yes," Victoria nodded, her smile slightly deranged. "Quite lovely. I'm so happy for Laura."

"Mark seems a very nice young man."

"Oh, he is. He is," Victoria nodded. Her eyes shifted back and forth uncomfortably. "Well," she said awkwardly. "I should really be-" she pointed back inside.

Geri narrowed her eyes and measured the other woman up. "Came out for a smoke didn't you?" she said bluntly.

Victoria sighed as her shoulders drooped. "Am I that obvious?"

"Only because I was just wishing I hadn't quit," Geri smiled. This time it was genuine.

"It's just, this wedding has been so _stressful_ ," Victoria explained a bit helplessly.

"There, there," Geri said sympathetically. "Let's each have one and if anyone complains to us, we'll blame each other. Alright?"

Victoria laughed. "That'd be lovely, thanks," she said, offering a cigarette to Geri.

Geri closed her eyes as she took a long drag. "It's been _years_ , but God that feels good," she sighed as she exhaled.

"I'm not a smoker, mind you," Victoria pointed out as she took a drag from her own cigarette. "It's only in times of particular stress."

"I understand completely."

"Good."

"Good."

* * *

"So, _Leo_ ," Tinny said, leaning forward slightly to emphasize her bosom. "Do you have any brothers?"

"Me?" Fitz asked, aiming his eyes just above her head where he knew it was safe to look. "Um, no?"

"Pity," Tinny said, curling one dark lock around her finger as she gazed at him frankly from head to toe.

"Is it?" Fitz asked weakly. He was a bit out of his depth and totally unsure of what to do. This was definitely unfamiliar territory.

"Oh, _definitely_ ," Tinny nodded, fluttering her eyelashes and smiling coquettishly. "Since you're off the market and all...?" She raised a questioning brow.

"Yep," Fitz nodded quickly and emphatically. "Yes. Definitely. Totally off the market. Not available at all." He looked around a bit desperately.

"Aww," Tinny pouted prettily. "Are you _sure_?"

"Tinny!" Jemma said, coming up to them with an insincere smile on her face. "Leo!" She leaned up and kissed Fitz's cheek before wrapping her arms around his waist in a side hug. "And what are you two discussing so secretly?" Her tone was light, but her eyes were shooting daggers.

"Um," Fitz cleared his throat and frantically searched his mind for a topic of conversation. "Isaac?" he said, not entirely sure where _that_ idea had come from.

"Isaac?" Jemma asked, totally surprised. "Why were you talking about _Isaac_?" She took a half step back from him to stare at him in confusion. "How do you even _know_ Isaac?"

"Who's Isaac?" Tinny asked, watching in fascinated interest as both Leo and Jemma proceeded to look more and more peevish.

"Her dad's graduate student," Fitz answered at the same time that Jemma answered, "An old friend."

Tinny looked between the two of them, eyes lighting up as she sensed discord. "What _kind_ of friend, Jemma?" she asked innocently.

Jemma blushed and pushed her hair behind her ears. She wasn't _about_ to specify that with Fitz standing right there. "One I don't see very often," she said with another cold smile.

"What a shame," Tinny tutted. "It's too bad you haven't been able to _keep in touch_."

Fitz ground his teeth together and tried to remain pleasant. "I just thought Tinny might want to meet him," he said lightly.

"Oh really?" Jemma asked with steel in her voice.

"I believe I would," Tinny said enthusiastically. "He sounds _just_ my type."

"I'll just bet he does," Jemma agreed with a hint of venom.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to recoveringrabbit for the idea for this flashback/information reveal :)  
> also, there's a gif in here that might be a bit fast to read, so I'm adding in a link to a static version of it if it's going too fast for you

Emma tutted at Jemma as they stood by the bar and surveyed the reception hall as it started to fill.

"Will you look at that," she said, shaking her head and pointing at Jezza.

"Hmm?" Jemma asked distractedly. She had her arms crossed over her chest, and she was gazing rather sternly at Fitz where he was speaking to the DJ.

"Your father," Emma rolled her eyes. "Honestly. If _I'm_ not allowed to bring my phone to these family events, the least he could do is put his down for five minutes."

"To be fair," Jemma laughed, "Dad's phone has yet to ring at either a wedding _or_ a funeral."

"You make it sound like I make a habit of it!" Emma scoffed.

Jemma raised an eloquent eyebrow and tilted her head to the side.

Emma sighed. "Alright, _fine_ ," she admitted. "The ban is warranted. But that doesn't mean he can just sit there staring at _his_ all evening!"

"Mum," Jemma said, jostling her with her elbow. "It's hardly _'all evening_ '. The reception hasn't even _started_ yet!"

"I swear, if it's the ruddy cricket..." Emma threatened darkly.

"I'll go talk to him," Jemma said soothingly. She bent slightly to kiss her mother's cheek and then made her way over to her father.

* * *

Fitz flipped through the DJ's collection of music without any real interest. He was just trying to avoid anyone he knew even slightly, and this seemed like a socially acceptable way to do it.

He and Jemma had ended up in a bit of a humdinger over the matter of Isaac. And Tinny, surprisingly enough. He hadn't even _done_ anything with Tinny, but apparently Jemma didn't want to consider a little thing like _facts_ during an argument. He bet if he asked anyone here, they'd say that _he_ was in the right of it.

Grinding his teeth, he risked a glance around to see if he could see anyone who might be on his side. A few days ago, he'd have said he had a decent shot with Jezza. But that was before this whole... whatever this was... had started. Now, he didn't really know _where_ they stood.

He didn't know where he stood with Jemma, either, for that matter. Last night, they'd... And then this afternoon... Well, there'd been a sort of an _agreement_ between them, hadn't there? He'd thought they were on the same page! And she'd seemed happy enough with the arrangement when they'd been in the back of his mum's car.

But then there was _Tinny_. And _Isaac._ And she'd gotten snippy, and he'd lost his temper, and now he might have lost his...

He still didn't really know what to call her.

Bit of a moot point, now, though.

He flipped a few more pages of songs and sighed morosely.

Maybe they should have just stayed best friends? Told their mums to go hang?

He bit his lip and looked over his shoulder again, this time catching sight of her as she crossed the room to her father.

He wasn't at all sure how they'd go back after all of this. And he was even less sure that he wanted to.

Isaac be damned. He didn't really know what was happening with Jemma, but he'd be blowed if some smarmy graduate student was going to be the thing that derailed them.

* * *

Jezza sat, bored, at his family's table. He'd offered to take the first turn at guarding the bags and things because he wanted to be sure he got in enough dances with his wife. Emma loved to dance, and he loved to dance with her, even if he was spectacularly bad at it. Being bored _now_ meant that someone else would have to sit out the dancing later and he could have his fill of twirling his gorgeous wife around the floor.

Grabbing his phone out of the small pile in the centre of the table, he punched in 1109 to unlock it.

He opened a new text and frowned. It was from someone identified only as 'Simmons' and... His frown cleared as he realized he'd picked up Fitz's phone by mistake.

But how did they have the same unlock code? _He_ used Jemma's birthday, but why would Fitz-?

His eyes widened in surprise. Well then.

He stared at the phone in his hands for over a minute, weighing a father's concerns with an honest man's integrity. He really shouldn't poke around in Fitz's phone. Not even to read his texts. _Especially_ not to read his texts. That would be _wrong_.

_Unforgivable._

_Absolutely **reprehensible**._

He scratched his beard and then bit his nails.

It might clear up some of the confusion he'd been experiencing recently. Give him a better idea of just what Fitz and Jemma were to each other. They'd hardly continue a charade with _each other,_ would they?

He scratched his beard again and chewed the inside of his cheek.

Maybe if he just read the ones from today? He'd get a sense of whether they were best friends or whether they were...

He pressed his lips tight together.

Well, and that would be... just _fine_ , wouldn't it? Perfectly acceptable. Fitz was a fine fellow, and Jemma was a grown woman, more than capable of deciding such things for herself.

Really, he just wanted to know the _truth_ of the situation. Seeking truth was a just cause, wasn't it? The _most_ just, really! He was honour-bound to track it down! Yes. Yes, he _had to_ look at the texts in order to determine what was truth and what was fiction.

Knowing in his heart of hearts that he was being a very bad man indeed, Jezza punched in the code again and scrolled up to that morning's first text, and then he began to read.

[[click here for static version](http://41.media.tumblr.com/6d0fa13d52303a3b58f81cfcb9b8b578/tumblr_o07yptEdbh1te2h9lo1_r1_1280.png)]

* * *

As Jemma got closer to her father, she looked at him curiously. His face was beet red, and he seemed to be quite affected by whatever he was reading on his phone. Her mum was going to rampage if it was the cricket. 

"Dad?" she said as she neared the table. He didn't look up but continued to scroll down the page. "Dad?" she said a bit louder. When his concentration still wasn't broken, she pressed a hand to his arm and tried one more time. "Dad?"

"Wha-?" Jezza startled guiltily. "Jemma!" He quickly pressed the phone face down on the table. "What ha-" He stopped himself from asking what had happened the night before that had been so brilliant. Not only did he not want her to know he'd been snooping, he wasn't at all sure he wanted her to answer him. "I mean," he swallowed nervously. "What can I do for you, M-moonbeam?"

Jemma frowned and pressed a cool hand to his forehead. "Are you feeling alright, Daddy?" she asked with concern. "You look a bit flushed."

"Fine, fine," Jezza waved her off. "Nothing to worry about."

"Alright," she smiled, leaning down to kiss his forehead. "But be warned: mum thinks you're checking the cricket, and if she catches you at it..." She let the sentence dangle, but they both shivered slightly anyway.

"Right," Jezza nodded. "No cricket," he gestured with finality. "Done."

"Good," Jemma smiled. "I'd hate for the wedding to be ruined by mum stabbing you with a butter knife."

"Salad fork, dear," Jezza corrected her gently. "You know how your mother feels about playing with sharp objects."


	23. Chapter 23

"Now," Jezza continued, patting the chair beside him to get his daughter to sit down. "What's taking the shine off my favourite constellation, then?" He tilted his head down a bit and looked at her patiently.

"What do you mean?" Jemma asked a bit tremulously. She picked up her bag from the assortment on the table and took out her compact so that she wouldn't have to look at her father.

Jezza raised an eyebrow at her and watched her. Her cheeks were a bit flushed, and her hands were fluttering about like birds, and he'd seen that same stiff smile on her face any number of times as she was growing up. "You're upset," he said quietly.

"It's nothing," Jemma said, waving a dismissive hand and snapping her compact shut. She closed her hand over his and gave it a squeeze. "But thank you for asking."

"It's not Laura is it?" Jezza asked, frowning. He remembered how they'd swung wildly from friends to sworn enemies when they'd entered their teens.

"No," Jemma smiled, shaking her head. "Laura and I are..." she shrugged with a sigh. "Well, I think we've got past the worst of it, at least."

Jezza covered her hand with his and gave it a pat. "I'm glad to hear it," he said with a genuine smile.

" _Tinny_ , on the other hand," Jemma continued with a glint in her eye.

"Oh no," Jezza sighed, dropping his head.

"Is _just_ as horrible as she's ever been. Even if _some_ people can't see it." She glanced over toward the DJ booth, but Fitz was no longer standing there.

* * *

"Mum?" Fitz asked a bit hesitantly as he saw his mother in the corridor outside of the reception hall.

Geri shut her purse with a snap and smiled at her son. "Leo," she said happily. Then she looked at him more closely and, with a sympathetic frown she kissed his cheek and pulled him into a hug. "Aww, what's go my little lion man so unhappy?" she asked as she rubbed his back.

" _Mum_ ," Fitz protested, rolling his eyes. "I'm not _five_ anymore."

"Yes, I'd figured that out already, believe it or not," Geri said with a touch of sarcasm and a gentle tap on the back of his head. "Just let your mum be a mum and tell her what's wrong."

Fitz quirked a half-smile at her and gave her a squeeze before letting go. "I..." he hesitated. How to phrase it, exactly?

"You..." Geri said with a leading tone. Her eyes widened and brows raised in expectation.

"I have this _friend_." Fitz closed his eyes immediately after he said it, knowing _exactly_ how ridiculous he sounded.

"Congratulations," Geri said dryly. "I always knew you had it in you."

"Alright, fine," he gave in. "It's me."

"I'm shocked, I tell you," Geri said, clutching at the neckline of her dress. "Truly _shocked_."

"Haha," Fitz shook his head. "Do you want to help me with this or not?"

Geri smiled at him fondly and cupped his cheek, stroking it with her thumb. "Of course I do, sweetheart," she said sincerely. "Tell me all about it, and we'll see what we can come up with."

He gave her a small, grateful smile and then began. "So it's like this..."

* * *

"... And _then_ Fitz started going on about how I clearly wanted to be with _Isaac_ ," Jemma ranted to her father. "Isaac!" She shook her head like she couldn't believe it.

"Yes, well," Jezza nodded miserably. He'd been blissfully ignorant about his daughter's _involvement_ with his graduate student the last time she'd been home, and he fervently wished he'd never been enlightened.

"I mean, he's a nice enough fellow and not nearly as stupid as some of your other students have been," Jemma went on, much to her father's chagrin. "But honestly! _Isaac!_ " She seemed to be insulted to the quick at the very suggestion. "And meanwhile, there's Fitz with _Tinny!_ "

Jezza blinked at that one. "Fitz and _Tinny_?" he said with more than a little surprise. "I can't say I'd ever have expected _that_ to happen," he said, dumbfounded.

Jemma rolled her eyes and heaved a huge sigh. "Is it any wonder?" she asked. "Given her..." she gestured meaningfully. " _Assets_."

Jezza's ears turned pink and he looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Well, I don't know about..." he floundered.

"And the way she was just _flaunting_ herself at him!" Jemma continued, building herself back up into a rage.

* * *

"... trying to _extricate_ myself from the conversation, and there's Jemma insisting I was bloody well _seducing_ her or something!" Fitz said, his voice rising sharply with his disbelief and his arms waving a bit wildly.

Geri couldn't stop a chuckle from escaping.

"What?" Fitz asked flatly, looking at her like he dared her to say anything.

"Nothing," Geri said, pressing her lips together to suppress another laugh. "Keep going."

Fitz squinted at her again before resuming his rant. "Well, and it's just so _funny_ that she's all up on her high horse about a _conversation_ when she and Isaac-" he stopped short. Even angry as he was, he wasn't going to tell tales out of school. Not about Jemma. Not about that.

"Who's Isaac?" Geri asked, rather confused.

"Her _ex_ ," Fitz said with a certain amount of animosity.

" _Oh_ ," Geri said. That single syllable contained a whole conversation's worth of meaning. "And you're upset because she's seen him again or something?" Geri asked.

"What?" Fitz frowned. "No," he shook his head. "I'm upset because I lost my stupid head and yelled at her, and she yelled at me, and we were having such a nice time together, and now it's gone all pear shaped."

"Oh," Geri smiled, putting an entirely different conversation into that same syllable. "I see," she said, and her eye twinkled.

* * *

"... And I just want to tell him how stupid I was about the whole thing," Jemma concluded. She was leaning against her father's shoulder and he had his arm wrapped around her as she spoke. 

"Oh, Starshine," Jezza said reassuringly. "I'm sure he knows."

Jemma sat up and looked at her father with a frown.

Jezza replayed what he'd said in his mind and then looked guilty. "Knows that you want to tell him that, I mean," he clarified.

Jemma lay back against him again and chuckled. "I wouldn't mind _him_ telling _me_ the same thing, though," she admitted.

Jezza looked over his daughter's head to see Fitz and Geri on their way over. He took in Geri's gloating smile and Fitz's  hesitant expression, and then he kissed the top of Jemma's head. "Looks like you wish might just come true," he said.

"What?" she asked. Then she followed his gaze. She stood up quickly as Fitz arrived at their table, and she took a nervous breath as they faced each other.

"Jemma, I-" Fitz started, his whole face an agony of apology.

"Oh, Fitz," Jemma nodded. "Me too."

"And I shouldn't have-"

"No, _I_ shouldn't have!"

"You didn't!"

"But I did-"

"Yes, but that's perfectly understandable, really."

"Well, so was yours."

Geri and Jezza watched their children have what seemed like half a conversation with each other, and they shared a look of understanding.

Emma came over with Evelyn and gestured for everyone to take a seat. "So, all ready for dinner?" she asked, looking around at her family and friends.

Jezza clasped her hand in his and kissed the back of it. "Starving," he said.

"I could eat a bloody horse," Geri agreed.

"I do hope the meat's well cooked," Evelyn observed.

"Yeah," Fitz said vaguely, looking at Jemma where she sat next to him. He bumped her knee with his own and offered her a shy smile.

"Mmhmm," Jemma nodded, not really listening. She gave Fitz a small smile of her own and brushed her fingers against his.

And then the servers started bringing in the first course, and they all tucked into their supper.


	24. Chapter 24

Emma scuttled over to where Geri and Jezza were standing by the bar. 

"Well," she said with an excited nod in the direction of Fitz and Jemma. "I think it's working!" She clapped her hands in her excitement.

The two of them were slow dancing to one of those nauseatingly romantic songs that are always played at weddings. Jemma's head rested on Fitz's shoulder, and Fitz's arms were wrapped around her waist.

Geri squinted at them and bit her lip as she nodded slowly. "Yeeees," she said with a thoughtful slowness. 

Emma looked at her in surprise. "You don't think so?" she asked. She looked back at the children and tilted her head. "They look quite like a couple to  _me_."

"No no," Geri said with a shake of her head. "That's not what I mean. It's just..." she trailed off and pressed two fingers to her lips as she thought. 

"Just what?" Emma asked. "Ta," she smiled at Jezza as he passed her a gin and tonic with a twist. 

He leaned down and kissed her cheek before whispering in her ear. "Not too many of those, mind you," he warned. "I'm holding you to your word about later." He winked at her and grinned mischieviously.

"You'd better," Emma winked back, tugging playfully on his tie. 

Geri was still focusing her attention on the children, though she never paid any mind to the way Emma and Jezza flirted outrageously. And constantly. 

"Are we sure they aren't together  _already_?" she asked with a frown of concentration. The way they'd made up from that argument they'd had... And _what_ they'd been arguing about!

"That's just what I'm saying!" Emma agreed. "I think it's worked!"

"No," Geri shook her head obstinately. "I  _mean_ , are we sure they  _weren't_ already together before they arrived?"

Jezza's face suddenly clouded over with guilt and he took a quick swallow of his beer to try to hide it. "What do you mean?" he asked with careful nonchalance.

Emma turned to him with narrowed eyes. "Jeremy Simmons," she said in a tone that brooked no argument. "You  _know_ something, don't you?"

* * *

Jemma sighed and closed her eyes, nestling in just a little bit closer to Fitz. 

It wasn't like they'd never hugged before. They'd even danced together, but that had been before yesterday. Before last night. Before the church parking lot.

Before she'd found out just how good a kisser Fitz was. 

She bit her lower lip and smiled, moving her hands from where they'd been resting on his shoulders. One moved up the back of his neck and into his hair and the other moved down his chest and under his arm to wrap around his back.

"Jemma?" Fitz whispered, his hands tightening on her lower back and drawing her even closer to him. 

"Mmhmm," she murmured, nodding with her cheek still pressed against his collar bone. He was so lovely and warm and _solid_ against her. She could just fall asleep right here. 

"There's a gaggle of old ladies in the corner all staring at us and taking pictures," he informed her. 

"That'll be the great aunts," Jemma informed him. "I can never tell them apart, but they all love to pinch my cheeks and give me money, so I just smile at them and let them get on with it." The last time she'd been home, she'd collected enough to buy a new iPhone.

"Well," Fitz cleared his throat a bit awkwardly. "The one with the blue hair keeps waving her arm madly to get my attention and then making rude gestures."

Jemma chuckled and opened her eyes, leaning back to look at him. "I think they want us to kiss," she said. She watched with interest as Fitz's face starting changing shade to a definite pink. 

"You, um," he licked his lips nervously. "I mean, we  _were_ doing a fair bit of that, yesterday," he nodded. "I can see why they'd expect it."

" _And_ we're at a wedding," Jemma added matter-of-factly. " _Very_ romantic," she laughed. 

"Oh, indeed," Fitz agreed with a chuckle. "Nothing in the world as romantic as a room full of your relatives, eating more than is good for them and getting drunk on an open bar."

"Exactly," Jemma nodded firmly. She looked over her shoulder at the aunts and gave them a little wave. The gestures she received in return were definitely not ones usually used in salutation. "I see what you mean," she said drily. "I wonder if they know just what they're suggesting."

"I desperately  _hope_ not," Fitz said, looking more than a little bit scandalized.

"Well," Jemma said, looking back at him expectantly. "Are you going to snog me or not then?" she asked. She made a mental note to give each of the aunts an extra hug tonight. They'd given her the perfect excuse. 

Fitz looked down at her with a lopsided grin. "I thought you'd never ask," he said. And then he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. 

* * *

" _Engaged_!" Geri said, her jaw dropping in shock. 

Emma blinked at her husband, not quite believing what he'd just said. " _Engaged?"_ she asked. "And you didn't  _tell_ us?"

Jezza held up his hands in self-defense. "Now, dearest," he started.

"Don't you 'now dearest' _me_ , Jezza!" Emma whispered harshly, looking around to make sure  no one was listening in on their conversation. "Explain!"

* * *

Fitz fitted his lips against Jemma's, and it was all he could do not to sigh in contentment. He'd thought about it before, in an idle kind of way. More than once, if he were being honest. Alright, a  _lot_ more than once. But that was just what you did sometimes when you had attractive friends. He'd thought about kissing  _lots_ of girls he knew. 

It was the kissing  _back_ that was so very distracting. 

He sucked her lower lip between his, enjoying the sigh that she didn't seem compelled to silence. God, the way she was pressing up against him... It was last night all over again, but with none of the privacy. 

Her lips opened up and he followed suit with his, and then her tongue flitted out to softly stroke against just the tip of his. Try as he might, he wasn't able to suppress his quiet moan. That was Jemma through and through: never satisfied until she'd proved herself to be the best. 

Sliding his arms more completely around her, Fitz pulled her so tight to him that she had to tilt her head backward slightly to maintain their kiss. He pressed his lips even harder against hers, determined to make her break it first, but that just redoubled her enthusiasm. 

He had trouble remembering they were in the middle of a dance floor with a group of octogenarians watching them make out. 

Finally, he had to admit it was either stop or embarrass himself. Lightening the pressure of his mouth on hers, he loosed his grip on her and eventually lifted his lips and opened his eyes. 

"Think  _that's_ satisfied them?" he panted, not looking at the aunts at all. 

"I don't know about  _them_ ," Jemma said, her face flushed and her breathing fast. "But it's definitely done all  _sorts_ of things for  _me._ "

* * *

"Oh my god!" Emma gasped. "That ring!"

Jezza nodded and shrugged. "That's what I keep coming back to, as well," he agreed. "She said Fitz gave it to her for her birthday, but..."

Geri shook her head slowly. "My little Leo," she said in amazement. "All grown up and  _engaged_."

Emma frowned and pressed her hands to the sides of her neck. "But,  _why_ would they keep it from us?" she asked, clearly upset. "They obviously know we'd approve!"

"There, there, Moon of my Heart," Jezza comforted her. He wrapped his arms around her and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "I'm sure they have their reasons."

Geri's wonderment quickly turned to irritation. "Well, _whatever_ those reasons may be," she said brusquely, "I can tell you this much: they are  _not_ sufficient to hide your engagement from your  _mothers_." Lifting her glass to her lips, she tossed back the rest of her red wine and then set the glass on the bar with such force it was surprising it didn't break. 


	25. Chapter 25

Evelyn patted her hair back into some semblance of order and pulled her compact out of her purse to fix her lipstick.

"My _God_ , woman," Chester wheezed as he straightened his tie. "You make me feel like I'm 50 again!"

She gave him a sly smile and a slyer wink and wiggled her hips at him as she opened the door to the closet they were in. "Next time, I'll aim for 45."

"Grandma?" Laura blinked as she saw her emerge. "What are you- _Chester_?" her eyes widened in comprehending horror as she realized just why a couple might have been in a closet together.

"Laura, darling," Evelyn said effusively. She gave her granddaughter a hug and a kiss on each cheek. "You look simply _radiant_ , dear. You're positively _glowing!_ " Behind her, she waved a hand a Chester to encourage him to make a quick exit.

Laura watched as Chester dashed spryly down the hall and back into the reception. "You-?" she stopped herself from asking. Instead, she pasted a smile on her face and looked back at her grandmother. "Thank you," she said with a cheek kiss of her own. "Are you going to come in for the speeches?"

Evelyn heaved a sigh and rolled her eyes. "I suppose I really _should_ ," she admitted. "Although I might just fall asleep if your father goes on too long." She patted Laura's hand when the bride started to protest. "There, there, dear," she said kindly. "He's a lovely man but a horrid public speaker. _Why_ your mother insists he go into politics is beyond me."

"Me as well," Laura agreed a bit guiltily. "But at least you _can_ fall asleep. I'm sat right up there in front of everyone, and I have to look pleased and interested no matter what they say."

"The trials and tribulations of womanhood," Evelyn nodded. "Just one more reason why my Tom and I eloped."

* * *

"I don't _want_ to calm down," Geri insisted from the back corner of the reception hall. "So stop telling me I must!"

"Look," Emma said soothingly. "We can't very well interrogate them at a wedding, can we?" she asked reasonably.

"We can bloody well _try_!" Geri insisted.

Emma sighed and looked up at the ceiling, praying for more patience than she was currently experiencing. "I want to drag it out of them _too_ , you know," she said sharply. "But you don't see _me_ throwing a fit about it in public!"

Geri blinked and stared at her friend. She so rarely saw Emma lose her temper that it quelled her rage instantly. "Oh, Emma," she said apologetically. "I'm _sorry_ , it's just-"

"I know," Emma nodded and sighed again. "Me too."

"I just want to know _why_ they'd keep it from us," Geri said plaintively.

Emma was looking helplessly back at her when Jezza returned from his search.

"Found them," he said. "But they're a bit busy just now."

"What?" Geri asked bitterly. "Did the ask the parson to stay for a second ceremony?"

Emma gasped and smacked her on the arm. "Don't even _suggest_ that! Bad enough they're _engaged_ without telling us!"

Jezza had paled slightly as Geri's suggestion but put on a brave face and sallied on. "There's a problem with the microphone for the speeches. They're trying to fix it." He nodded back over his shoulder to where a small group of people had gathered around the DJ's booth.

* * *

Fitz cursed lightly under his breath and he stripped a wire with his pocket knife. He wished had his crimping kit with him, but he'd left it back at the house. Drat the luck. He was trying to concentrate on following leads and wires through the DJ's soundboard to ensure that everything was hooked up properly and working, but the conversation going on to his right was increasingly distracting. 

"-centre of attention!" Tinny was accusing, arms folded across her ample chest.

"I do _not_ always have to be the centre of attention!" Jemma protested hotly.

"And yet, here we are _at Laura's wedding_ and there's you and Leo making out like a couple of randy teenagers in the middle of the dance floor!"

"Loads of people kiss at weddings," Jemma said, head raised haughtily despite her blush.

"Yes," Tinny said acidly. "But they either keep it family-friendly or they go into a convenient closet!" She leaned in a bit closer to better make her point. "The two of _you_ looked like you were about to get distinctly R-rated."

"We _never_!" Jemma gasped, horrified.

Fitz felt his own face turn a burning hot shade of red as he realized Tinny might just have a point. He knew that, for his part, he'd have been quite happy to drag Jemma off to a quiet dark place to continue where they'd left off the night before. He paused in his mechanical repairs and risked a quick glance at Jemma out of he corner of his eye. R-rated was a bit much, but he wouldn't mind trying for PG-13.

"Just... try to keep your bloody hands _off_ each other," Tinny advised with a look of disgust. "For a _few_ hours, at least."

"That won't be a problem," Jemma spat out of clenched teeth.

"And mind what I said about announcing your engagement, too," Tinny warned.

" _Trust_ me," Jemma said emphatically. "I have _no_ intention of announcing _that_."

Fitz twisted a last few wires together and started his last visual check of the board. The last thing he wanted to do was electrocute a member of the bridal party. He'd _never_ hear the end of that.

"Are you sure you can manage to keep your big mouth shut?" Tinny asked with a sneer.

" _My_ big mouth?" Jemma asked, insulted. " _You're_ the one Laura should be worried about!"

Fitz reached down to plug in the board.

" _Me_?" Tinny asked. "What would _I_ do to hurt Laura? She's been my best friend since we were 12 years old!"

"Oh, I don't know," Jemma said sarcastically. "Maybe tell ev-" her sentence was interrupted by a loud burst of static and feedback. " **Pregnant,** " she finished, directly into the microphone that Fitz had just fixed.


	26. Chapter 26

Evelyn was sitting alone at the table, abandoned by her family. _She_ didn't see why anyone had to stay with the bags. They were _related_ to everyone in the room, after all. If anyone stole anything, it would soon be tracked down.

She should have stayed in that closet with Chester.

Huffing out a bored sigh, she looked around the reception hall. Laura and her husband were making cow eyes at each other at the head table. The aunts were all in a tizzy around their table, giggling like schoolgirls and pointing at Leo where he was working away at something technical in the DJ booth. She spotted her younger daughter, Victoria, trying to sneak out of the room. No doubt she was smoking again. Any excuse with that one. And there were Geri and Emma in the back corner, overreacting to something-or-other. Honestly, they were as bad as Tinny and Jemma, who she could see were having a rather intense discussion of their own, though they were trying to keep their faces pleasant enough.

She was just looking around for Chester when an obnoxious jangling noise started up somewhere on the table.

"Oh, _Emma_ ," she tutted and rolled her eyes. Wasn't there some sort of family rule about her not being allowed to bring her phone to these things. It was _always_ going off at the wrong moment.

Evelyn started pushing bags around the table, trying to find which one the noise was emanating from, but really there were just so many! And she had no _idea_ which one was Emma's. Why didn't girls today match their bags to their dresses? Why were they all just black?

Looking up, she spotted Jezza walking across the room toward his wife and tried to flag him down. _He_ might know which bag was hers. Unfortunately, he didn't see her and continued to the back corner without slowing down.

In a frustrated fit of pique, Evelyn took all three purses in her hands and dumped their contents unceremoniously on the table.

She was just reaching out for the one lighting up when the ringing ceased.

"Bollocks," she cursed, shoulders dropping in defeat. And now she had a mess to clean up.

She'd just managed to pile most of the odds and sods into little piles for each woman when she was nearly deafened by a burst of static and feedback as she lifted up a black velvet box.

"Pregnant," said Jemma quite clearly into a microphone, for all the reception to hear.

Evelyn closed the lid on the diamond ring with a snap. "Well," she said with more than a little surprise. "That'll be Jemma's then."

* * *

The reception stuttered to a halt as heads turned towards Jemma and cutlery clattered down on plates. Conversations petered out for a brief moment of absolute silence. Then a susurration of whispers began.

Jemma stared wide-eyed at Tinny and Tinny stared back just as terrified. Both of them were frozen in shock and horror.

Finally, Tinny's eyes filled with something akin to regret and she mouthed, 'Sorry.' And then she smiled widely and swung her arms around Jemma in a massive hug. "Congratulations!" she shouted in an excited voice.

Jemma hugged her back reflexively for a moment before trying instead to push her away. "You did _not_ just-!"

"Shut up and play along or ruin Laura's day for her. Your choice," Tinny whispered back.

"But-"

"Look, I'd take the hit for her, I would," Tinny said quickly. "But you're the one with the fiance."

"But I-"

" _And_ you live in America, so you only have to put up with the questions for today."

"But you-"

"I'll never say another mean thing to you in my _life_."

Jemma tried desperately to think of something, _anything_ she could do, but it was like her brain had turned to jelly. She nodded weakly. "Alright," she whispered.

* * *

Jezza sat down heavily on a nearby chair. "Pregnant?" he said hoarsely. "My little Starshine?"

Geri sat down just as heavily beside him. "I'm going to be a _grandmother_?" she said weakly.

Emma looked helplessly from her husband to her friend to her daughter being hugged at the front of the hall. If Tinny hadn't congratulated her, she'd never have believed the pregnant one was _Jemma_. Although...

"I suppose that's why they haven't mentioned the engagement," Emma concluded as she sat down as well.

"What?" Geri asked, dragging her attention away from her existential crisis and back toward her bestie.

"Pregnant?" Jezza whispered, staring into the middle distance.

Emma stroked Jezza's arm to comfort him as she addressed Geri. "It's a bit awkward, you have to admit," she reasoned. "Telling your parents that, despite being a couple of literal geniuses, you've managed to get accidentally pregnant."

Jezza whimpered at the word. "Moonbeam," he moaned quietly.

Geri nodded. She looked back to the front of the room where Jemma was slowly being mobbed by relations and caught sight of her son, looking rather like he might be having a heart attack.

* * *

Jemma smiled awkwardly at the great aunts.

"Y-yes, thank you," she stammered in response to their congratulations.

"And what a handsome father you've got for the little thing, too," said the blue-haired one with a wink at Fitz as she placed a hand on Jemma's stomach.

Fitz gulped nervously, wishing his brain would start working. Bad enough yesterday when he'd said they were engaged, and now Jemma was declaring herself pregnant? He looked quickly around to the room to their table, dreading the look on his mother's face. Instead, he saw Evelyn sitting there alone, but rather than the menacing glare he would have expected to receive from her at this point, she was grinning at him like a Cheshire cat and giving him a double thumbs up.

"When are you due?" asked another of the interchangeable old ladies.

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Are you going to bring it up in America, or come back home to England where it'll get a proper education?"

Jemma was hardly able to start answering one question when another one was posed to her, and she looked desperately over at Fitz. 'Help," she mouthed at him, her brows raised in a plea.

Fitz nodded and took a deep breath, rounding the DJ table to stand beside his bestfriend/girlfriend/fiance/mother of his child.

" _Such_ a good-looking couple," the blue haired aunt sighed. "I didn't even realize you'd gotten married!" She gave them a steely-eyed look that clearly stated that a) _not_ being married was going to be a source of discussion and 2) her not being invited was an argument-in-the-making as well.

Fitz looked from Jemma to the aunt and back again. "Uh," he hedged. "We, um," he gulped, staring at Jemma and wishing someone would rescue them.

Jemma met Fitz's eyes and then looked down at her hands. He followed her gaze and watched in mute horror as she moved the braided metal band he'd gifted her for her birthday from her right middle finger to her left ring finger.

"It was in America," Fitz said, staring at her hand for a moment longer before meeting her eyes once more. "Just a small ceremony."

Jemma nodded in confirmation. "We just couldn't wait any longer," she explained with a nervous laugh.

The aunts all shared a knowing smile. "I remember how that is," said one.

"Good of you to wait til after the ceremony," said another with a glance at Jemma's midsection, "Considering the way couples go about things these days."

"You'll have to have a proper wedding, now that you're in England," said a third."

"I'm sure the parson's still here," said the one with blue hair. "We could do it today! Save you the expense!"


	27. Chapter 27

Fitz grabbed Jemma's hand and escaped the reception during the confusion of everyone finding their seats for the speeches. Looking around for someplace they could hide, he spotted a closet and dragged her into it.

" _Fitz!_ " she yelped in surprise. "What are you-?"

"We need to _talk_ ," he said, pulling the chain to turn on the incandescent bulb above them. "And we need to do it without being bloody well _interrupted_."

* * *

Emma guided Jezza slowly over to their table while Geri went to the bar to get him a stiff drink.

" _There_ now, Jezza-bear," Emma said soothingly as he sat down next to her mother. "Just you sit tight right there, and Geri'll be back with something to lift your spirits."

Evelyn snorted. "Unless it's a defibrillator, I don't see it making much difference for him."

"Mother!" Emma hushed her. Then she hid her smile behind her hand. It wasn't that she wasn't as upset as Geri and Jezza were, she was just a more practical sort of person. She'd been aiming for an engagement and a baby, anyway, albeit on a much longer time scale than this. But still. It was working out in the end, even if it weren't how she'd planned it.

"Anyway, I'll say this much for that boy," Evelyn said, leaning forward with a glint in her eye and whispering so as not to disturb the father of the bride's speech. "He didn't skimp on the ring!"

"What's that?" Jezza asked, shaking himself out of his stupor.

"What are you talking about, Mum?" Emma asked, confused. "He _made_ the ring."

"Not that one," Evelyn waved impatiently. " _This_ one."

Emma looked into the black velvet box lined with white satin and gasped at the diamond inside it. "It's _true_ ," she breathed. She had to admit, she hadn't been sure.

"I _say_ ," Jezza harrumphed uncomfortably, taking the ring box into his much larger hand. "We really shouldn't be poking around in things that aren't ours."

"But-"

"But nothing," he said firmly. "My little Starshine will tell us in her own time. And until then..." He reached over to where Fitz's jacket was hung over the back of his chair and dropped it in the pocket.

Evelyn and Emma looked at his determined face and then at each other. With a mutual shrug, they nodded in agreement.

* * *

" _How_ in the _world_ are we going to explain this to our parents?" Jemma moaned, covering her face with her hands and pacing the two meager steps she could in the small closet.

Fitz shook his head and dragged a hand through his hair. "My mum's gonna _kill_ me," he whimpered.

"My dad's going to _die_!" Jemma exploded.

"Oh god," Fitz groaned, closing his eyes and leaning his head back to rest it against the wall. "Jezza. _He's_ gonna kill me too!"

Jemma was nodding in agreement when another thought occurred to her. "Oh no," she whispered in horror. " _Laura."_

Their eyes met, and they both had the same thought at the same time.

"Shit."

* * *

Laura smiled happily as she watched her father's speech and held her new husband's hand, but out of the corner of her mouth she was speaking to her maid of honour.

"What the _hell_ was that?" she asked, keeping her temper under wraps because there were over 100 people watching her.

"I'm sorry, Laura!" Tinny apologized quietly, also pretending to listen to Mr. Newgate. "It just sort of... happened!"

"It did _not_ just _happen_ ," Laura whispered back, her smile faltering until she hitched it back in place. "You were antagonizing Jemma, _like I asked you not to do._ "

"It wasn't exactly a one-sided argument," Tinny pointed out, trying to stay calm.

"That doesn't matter now," Laura whispered. "What _matters_ is the fact that _my wedding_ was just upstaged by _Jemma's pregnancy_."

"It was either that," Tinny whispered sarcastically, "Or upstaging your wedding with _your_ pregnancy!"

Laura's eyes widened and her mouth opened in a slight whimper. Thankfully, her father had just said something embarrassing about her when she was a child.

* * *

"We can fix this," Jemma said calmly. She smoothed down the front of her dress and took a deep breath. "Pretend it's an exam. Some horrible, nightmarish exam that if we don't pass we end up dead."

"Oh," Fitz said imbuing the syllable with more sarcasm than should be possible for a single vowel. "So being married to me is 'nightmarish' is it? Thanks for that."

Jemma rolled her eyes and groaned, rolling her head back to stare at the ceiling. " _Fitz!_ " she said with more frustration that he'd ever heard her express before. " _That's_ not the nightmare!"

"Well, how am I supposed to know?" he frowned at her. " _You're_ the one who wanted to wait til we were back in America to talk about... things." He shrugged and looked down at his shoes.

Jemma's frustration melted as she looked at him. She shook her head and chuckled softly. "You perfect bloody idiot," she said, grabbing him by his tie. She met his eyes and smiled and he smiled back, and then their problems could wait because they were kissing.

* * *

Geri dropped off Jezza's drink for him and rolled her eyes at the best man's speech. Was there anything more painful to listen to than an unfunny man who thought he was funny?

"Pass me my bag, would you?" she asked Emma.

Evelyn reached out first. "What was it you needed dear?" she asked, pulling the handbag she'd assumed was Geri's closer to her.

"My phone," Geri said, still distracted. She was having on hell of a night, and she needed to talk to someone who _wasn't_ right in the middle of this nonsense.

Evelyn fished it out and handed it to her. "Is that it?"

Geri frowned at her. "Of course it is," she said. "Did you not put your contacts in this morning?"

"Just checking," Evelyn said with a small sigh of relief. There'd only been two phones in the three bags, and the other one was clearly Jemma's with it's periodic table cover. Apparently, Emma _hadn't_ brought hers, after all. Miracle of miracles.

"Right," Geri nodded distractedly. "I just need to make a call. I'll be back."

* * *

"So," Fitz panted, dragging his lips off of Jemma's for a few precious seconds. "Think I could take you out for dinner sometime? Just you and me?"

Jemma pulled him back down and nodded while she kissed him again. "Mmhmm," she mumbled into his mouth. Her hands were buried in his hair, and she kind of wished he hadn't got it cut that morning. She missed threading her fingers through his curls.

"Excellent," Fitz sighed, pausing their kiss just long enough for that one word and then moaning when she pushed him against the wall and kissed him even harder.

"If you're not careful," Jemma said, moving her lips to kiss his neck up to his ear. "I'll let you do more than that."

* * *

"Erik? It's Geri," she said into her cellphone as she walked out of the reception hall. "Are you busy?"

She looked around as he reassured her he could talk. The noise of the speeches was making it difficult to hear him. She started walking toward the side door. She could do with some fresh air.

"It's just," she paused and pushed her hair back from her face. "This _day_ ," she sighed. "It's just one thing after another."

She pushed open the door and was greeted by a group of the catering staff laughing loudly and smoking together. They quieted down as soon as they saw her and tried to hide their cigarettes. She smiled and waved apologetically and went back inside.

"No no," she shook her head. "Nothing like that. It's Leo," she sighed again. "Leo and Jemma."

She spotted a closet and figured it was better than nothing for some peace and quiet.

* * *

Fitz's hands moved down her back slowly, hesitating at the small of her back until she reached behind herself and pushed them lower. Grabbing onto that delicious roundness that her dress had made look even better than usual, Fitz moaned against her lips again.

"Oh, Fitz," Jemma sighed into their kiss. This wasn't solving their problem at all, but it was definitely making her feel a lot better about things.

"Mmm, Jemma," Fitz sighed back, maneuvering her around until her back was against the wall. As far as he was concerned, this whole bloody wedding could go hang. Maybe he'd borrow his mum's car and drive them home early. He had a sudden desire to turn in for the night.

And then the wall Jemma was pressed against moved and they toppled down on to the floor.

Right at the feet of Geri Fitz where she still held the closet door handle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just an FYI that I'm back to work tomorrow and won't be posting 2 chapters a day anymore. In fact, I'm not sure I'll be posting daily at all. I'm still going to try for every other day at the most, though, so don't worry!


	28. Chapter 28

Geri looked down at her feet where her son lay prone on top of his... fiance? and blinked slowly. In her ear, she could hear Erik saying something, but she couldn't quite process what it was.

Fitz and Jemma, for their part, looked up at Geri, unable to move. 

All three of them remained in a frozen tableau for a moment, their silence interrupted by laughter and cheers from the reception hall.

Then Geri, clearly struggling to keep her tone level, spoke into her phone. "Erik?" she said in a tight voice. "I'm going to have to call you back. Something's come up."

Her movement spurred Fitz to scramble to his feet, and he reached down to pull Jemma up after him. "Mum-" he started, a pleading look in his eyes.

"I don't understand," Geri said slowly. She brought one hand delicately up to her brow as if she were going to cover her eyes and then she slid her fingers down to her temple and started massaging it. "Are you trying to give her  _twins_?"

"That's not how-" Jemma began to gently correct her.

" _I know that's not how it works!_ '" Geri interrupted her shrilly, her hand shooting out in a wide gesture of exasperation. 

"I can explain!" Fitz insisted, his eyes wide and his voice trying to calm her. "You see-"

"I swear to bloody  _God_ , Leopold Fitz," Geri said, pointing an angry finger at him and raising one delicate brow in challenge. "If you say 'Fallopian tube' I'm disowning you."

"What?" Fitz asked, completely confused. "That's not..." he shook his head. "I wasn't going to explain about  _that_ , I was going to-"

Geri shook her head and closed her eyes, holding up a hand to stop him talking. She tilted her head back, taking in an excessively deep breath and letting it out slowly. "Remember your blood pressure," she muttered to herself as she breathed deep again.

"Geri? Are you al-" Jemma asked, taking a half step toward her.

"I'm fine!" Geri snapped. She took another slow breath and opened her eyes again. "I'm  _fine_ ," she said beatifically. "Everything's just  _fine_ ," she smiled mechanically at them. 

"Mum?" Fitz asked hesitantly, reaching out to her. 

"Let's just get back to the reception, shall we?" Geri said in a falsely bright tone. "I'm sure we're being missed." And then she spun an about-face on one pointy-toed pump and marched back to the doors of the reception hall.

Jemma and Fitz looked at each other helplessly for a moment, but then shrugged and followed her. They'd straighten it all out later.

* * *

Emma and Jezza smiled awkwardly at the great aunts as each one stopped by to congratulate them. With all of the hubbub going on around them, it was difficult to hear the details but there was something about "America" and something else about "bringing it up" and a muddled word that sounded almost like "invitation" but unless they were speaking of a christening, Emma and Jezza didn't want to consider the implications of  _that_.

Once the parade of aunties and other well-wishers had passed by their table, Emma looked around for her mother but couldn't seem to find her anywhere.

"Jezza?" she asked, still peering around various relatives. "Have you seen Mum?"

"Hmm?" Jezza asked, looking up from where he'd been focused on his phone.

Emma rolled her eyes and sighed. "Oh, will you  _please_ put that ruddy thing away?" she asked, clearly annoyed. "It's a wedding not a match, so stop thinking about cricket and help me find my mother."

Jezza glanced around half-heartedly while flipping the phone idly between his fingers. After a moment or two, he nodded toward a corner. "I believe that's her over there," he said, trying not to smile. "Getting properly snogged by Mark's great-uncle."

"What?" Emma asked, whipping her head around. She gasped when she took in the sight of her mother sitting on the knee of a dapper old gentleman with white hair and a thick moustache. "Mum?" she whispered, the breath coming out of her.

Jezza laid the phone down carefully on the table and took his wife's hand in his. Giving it a gentle pat and a squeeze, he looked at her with the same sympathetic eyes she'd been giving him for the last half hour. "Another drink?" he offered.

* * *

Evelyn's head perked up from where it had been pressed down on Chester's.

"Evie?" he asked, pulling her closer on his lap.

"Shh, Chaz," she hushed him, listening for a moment. Then she bounced of his lap with a joyful sound. She clapped her hands together excitedly. "They're playing my song!" she said jubilantly.

"But-" Chester protested, reaching out for her.

Evelyn leaned down and kissed him briefly. "I'll be back," she said, dancing off. She wasn't even two steps away from him when she was singing along, "If you liked it, then you should have put a ring on it!"

She'd barely made it to the dance floor when the song faded out after the first chorus, leaving her disappointed. But then she realized what was happening. The tossing of the bouquet!

Looking around at all of the pretty young things around her, she pursed her lips in consideration. Technically speaking, _she_ was single, even if it _were_ just because her husband of almost 50 years had passed away. With a determined nod, she planted herself right in the middle of them and then turned to wink at Chester. He smiled back and waved, cheering her on.

Laura stood on the stage to the side of the head table and turned her back on the crowd of women behind her. Smiling broadly, she bent down and, with a dramatic flair, threw her flowers high and far behind her.

They passed over the heads of the assembled women, flying all the way to the doors to the hall where they dropped to the parquet floor and slid for a meter and a half. They would have gone farther, but they had run into two pairs of feet belonging to Geri Fitz and Jemma Simmons.


	29. Chapter 29

Jemma looked at the bouquet of flowers resting at her feet. It was a pretty arrangement in white and yellow with lots of baby's breath to fill it out and a white plastic handle to keep it all together. There was lace around the outside edges and a long yellow ribbon trailing down from a bow in the front. It stood out prettily from the brown parquet flooring, and under different circumstances she would have picked it up.

Under _these_ circumstances, however, she looked at it the way some people look at snakes or spiders, and then she squeaked before running back down the hall she'd just come in from, brushing past Fitz on the way.

"Looks like it's all yours, Geri," Evelyn called out loud and clear.

Geri looked down at the flowers at her feet with a sigh. Ridiculous tradition. She rolled her eyes and stepped over it. "I'm quite alright, thank you Evelyn," she said with a smile and a shake of her head. She also had too many other things on her mind to bother with something as silly as _that_.

Fitz frowned behind her, his head swiveling between his mother and his... girlfriend? He was so confused. But since Jemma seemed to be rushing toward the bathrooms, he decided to follow his mother back to their table. Right after he watched a little girl of about 7 pick up the bouquet from the floor and immediately rush over to her friend and tell her they had to get married.

"Mum?" he asked after he'd sat down next to her.

Geri took a breath and patted him on the knee with a smile. "Yes, Leo?"

He paused as he tried to decide how to say what he was thinking. After a moment, he gave up. She was his mum, she wouldn't mind if it came out wrong.

"Why don't you want to get married again?" he asked.

"What?" Geri blinked in surprise.

"It's not because of me, is it?" he continued, a worried look on his face.

"Whatever are you talking about, Leo?" Geri asked again nervously. "Why would I get married again?"

Fitz shrugged and looked down a bit awkwardly. "It's just..." he cleared his throat and didn't look at her. "I know you didn't... well... _date_ , after Dad, and I just," he pursed his lips together for a minute in thought.

"Just what?" Geri asked, with not a little trepidation.

"I want you to be happy," Fitz said, looking up at her with a smile. "And if you're happy on your own, then that's great," he nodded emphatically. "You've been doing bloody brilliant since you and Dad split, and that's the truth." His eyes softened as he continued. "But if you're _not_ happy on your own," he said hesitantly. "I mean, if you want to be... _not_ on your own," he cleared his throat. "Well, I just want you to know that I think that's great, too."

Geri blinked at him, not at all sure how to respond.

He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Anyway," he said, standing up. "I just wanted you to know that."

Geri caught his hand as he was turning to go. Giving it a squeeze, she smiled up at him. "Thank you, Leo," she said with a loving smile. "I'll take that under advisement."

* * *

Jezza held his wife close as they slow danced to I Will Always Love You. He had Emma, and as long as he had her, he had an island of sanity in the sea of craziness that had been flooding his life in the past few days.

"Emma," he said, looking down at her thoughtfully.

"Yes, Jezza?" she asked, smiling up at him.

"I've been thinking about Jemma and Fitz, and I think you were right," he said with a small nod.

Emma laughed. "I'd say that's fairly obvious, wouldn't you? Considering they're engaged with a baby on the way!"

Jezza opened his mouth to say something and then thought better of it. Instead he said, "I mean, I think they can make a real go of it."

"Oh yes?" Emma asked, looking at him in surprise. "That's quite the turnaround. Not half an hour ago you looked like your whole world had ended."

Jezza shrugged sheepishly. "I've changed my mind?"

Emma tugged on his tie so that he'd bend down enough for a kiss. That accomplished, she patted his cheek and let him stand upright again. "I'm glad to hear it, Jezza-bear," she sighed happily, pressing her cheek against his chest. "Because as much as I hate the secrecy of it all, I'm just _so happy_ they're together!"

Jezza gave her a squeeze as a laugh rumbled through him.

"What?" Emma asked, leaning back to look up at him suspiciously.

"Nothing dear," Jezza placated her, squeezing her a bit tighter. "I'm just glad you're happy."

Emma smiled and leaned against him again as Whitney Houston melted into Etta James.

* * *

"Not for nothing," Fitz said as he came up behind Jemma where she was standing outside the reception hall. "But I'm kind of getting mixed signals from you these days." He chuckled softly and and nudged her with one elbow. He stood beside her with his hands in his pockets looking out at the trees on the property.

Jemma closed her eyes tight and pressed her hands against her cheeks, moaning in embarrassment. "Oh god."

"I mean," he started in a teasing voice. "First you're horrified by the idea of pretending to be my girlfriend. Then you suggest we practice kissing. _Then_ you kissed me in bed last night."

She turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't hear _you_ complaining," she observed, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"True," Fitz nodded. "But you also smacked me in the head for calling you my fiance and then a day later decided to be the fake mother of my imaginary child before running away from the thrown bouquet!" He smirked at her again. "I'm just saying, a bloke could get confused."

Jemma pressed her lips together, trying not to let her smile show. "Well, what about _you_?" she retorted.

"Me?" Fitz asked, turning to her with one hand pressed to his chest and his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"You didn't even want to come on this trip," Jemma pointed out. "And then you're saying we're getting married and pulling me into cars and closets to kiss me and ask me on dates!" She tutted her disappointed while her eyes glinted with amusement. "Plus, _you're_ the one who talked me into the whole 'pretend we're dating' thing, claiming you didn't want to hear about it from your mum."

"To be fair, that's a perfectly legitimate reason to decide to date someone," Fitz put in seriously. "I mean, you've seen my mum in House debates. You can't blame me for wanting to avoid an argument with her."

Jemma couldn't keep her laughter in any longer. "I thought she might have a heart attack when we fell out of the closet at her feet," Jemma admitted.

"If she didn't _then_ ," Fitz said, taking her left hand in both of his. "She will if she sees _this_ ," he looked significantly at her ring finger. She was still wearing her birthday band there, appearing for all the world as if she were married. To him.

"Yes, well," Jemma blushed, looking down and tucking her hair behind her ear with her free hand. "I'll be sure to put it back once the reception is over."

Fitz dropped one hand from hers but still held her with the other as he turned back to look at the trees again. "No rush," he said casually, not looking at her.

Jemma pressed her lips together again and squeezed his hand. Then she turned to look out at the trees as well.


	30. Chapter 30

Jezza tossed restlessly on the mattress and then turned over and switched on his bedside lamp. Sitting up against the headboard, he looked over at his wife lying beside him.

"Em-"

"He's not going to get her _more_ pregnant, Jezza," she said without opening her eyes. "Just leave them be til the morning."

"But-"

"And leave _me_ be while you're at it," she said, curling into a tighter ball on her side with her back to him to block out as much of the light as possible. "I lost count of how many gins I had tonight, and the morning is going to be bad enough as it is."

"But-"

"The more you talk now, the further away 'later' is going to be," she sniffed grumpily.

Jezza swallowed his next protest. It really _was_ rather late to start getting into everything. And he'd had more than a few pints, himself. Jemma'd had to drive home, but that had been for the best. With her in the driver's seat and Fitz sitting next to her, Jezza had been able to keep an eye on them.

Unfortunately, he couldn't do that now. All he could do was lie there in his bed, staring at the ceiling and trying not to think about what his little Stardust was doing in her room with that boy.

Settling back down on the mattress, he reached out and clicked the light off.

Maybe he should organize a fire drill. With all of the extra people in the house, it was only logical. For safety.

* * *

Jemma rested her head on Fitz's shoulder and stroked her hand lazily over his tshirt-clad chest. She couldn't help smiling, even with the seriousness of their conversation, because she was _snuggling_ with Fitz. They'd shared beds before and they'd curled up together on sofas and what not, but it was never like this. He had one arm curled around her back and the other was rubbing lightly up and down her arm and every once in while, he'd kiss the top of her head while they talked. It was perfect.

"... hope she decides to start dating," Fitz was saying.

"Why do you blame yourself, though?" Jemma asked. "Surely your mum wouldn't feel guilty dating _now_. You haven't lived at home for years! _And_ you're a grown man now."

Fitz chuckled and his chest vibrated under her cheek. "I certainly am _that_ ," he said, nudging her under her chin til she looked up at him. Then he waggled his eyebrows.

Jemma laughed and rolled her eyes, smacking his chest lightly before going back to stroking it. "Stay on topic, please," she said primly with an impish smile.

Fitz sighed. That was the thing about Jemma. She was never deflected by his humour. She was as tenacious as a terrier with a bone. He squeezed her a bit tighter for a moment and then pressed his cheek against her hair and nodded.

"When my dad..." he cleared his throat. "When he started dating again, I was... well, I was pissed off," he admitted quietly. "I didn't want him dating. I wanted him to be married to my mum. I wanted him living at home with us, not off in some flat on the other side of town with some floozy he'd just met. He loved my mum, and that was that. At least, that's how I felt when I was 8."

Jemma squeezed him back and pressed a kiss against his chest. She didn't say anything, waiting for him to continue. 

"I was a right little arsehole about it, too," Fitz snorted. "Did everything I could to break them up, and when they got married..." he blew out a breath with a tiny shudder. Then his lip quirked in a small smile as Jemma squeezed him again. "I didn't go. I shouted at him when he told me, and I swore I'd never speak to him again. I said I hated him. That he was a terrible father." Fitz paused and sucked in another sharp breath.

"Oh, Fitz," Jemma whispered. She shifted next to him, and then she was cupping his cheek and looking down at him with such warm understanding that he just let it out.

"Shhh," she whispered, kissing his forehead gently as he cried. "Shhh, it's alright." She brushed his hair off his forehead and rubbed her thumb across his cheek to dry it.

"I said such horrible things to him," Fitz said wetly. "And I just..." he sniffed and swiped a hand under his nose, taking  deep breath to calm himself down again. Shaking his head, he kissed her palm and then moved her hand back to his chest. He offered her a weak smile as he said, "I don't want my mum to think I'd ever say those things to her."

Jemma smiled back at him kindly. "You're a good man, Leopold Fitz," she said, leaning down to kiss him.

Fitz frowned and moved away from her. "Please don't call me Leopold when we're alone," he begged. "It's bad enough out there," he thrust his chin to her bedroom door. "But in here? It's just plain _wrong_."

Jemma rolled her eyes again and laughed. "Catch me complimenting you again!" she teased, flouncing over until her back was to him and her head back on the pillow again.

"Hey now!" Fitz protested, spooning himself behind her. "I didn't say not to kiss me!" His hand circled her waist and started tickling her ribs.

"Too late now," Jemma giggled as she squirmed away from his hand. "You missed your chance! You'll just have to wait for morning now."

Fitz smiled as he kissed her shoulder and pulled her back against him. "Don't forget to set the alarm."

* * *

Geri curled up on her side, one hand smoothed over the cool sheets next to her. She tried to imagine them being occupied, tried to remember what it was like to share a bed with someone night after night. It had been almost 20 years since she'd last done that, and she wasn't at all sure she wanted to do it again.

She didn't even really remember which side she preferred to sleep on. She'd been occupying the middle of the bed for so long, she'd have to make a choice.

And Erik didn't snore, but maybe she did? She'd never asked, but her dad did have sleep apnea after all. Maybe she should get herself checked. She should make an appointment with the clinic when she got back to Dundee.

What if she had to wear one of those horrid masks? That was hardly romantic, now was it? But then, neither was marriage after a while.

Rolling over onto her back, she stared at the ceiling and thought back on the fights she used to have with her ex. Oh, that man could argue! If not for little Leo, they might have shouted the roof off the house, but with him there they kept it to harsh whispers.

Of course, Erik didn't mind that she was a politician. He had no designs on being one himself, and he was happy to support her efforts. She was never entirely sure if he was joking when he spoke about her being Prime Minister some day. She smiled briefly. Knowing him, he'd probably quit the Jodrell Bank to lead her campaign.

That was part of what was so scary about him, really. He'd already offered to quit more than once so that he could move up to Scotland to be with her. Quit! It was his dream job, and he wanted to give it up for some woman he'd never spent more than a week at a time with. The man must be insane.

She rolled over onto her side again and huffed out a breath. Why did he have to go and bloody well propose, the giant prat? They'd had a good thing going, and he was ruining it with all of his talk about loving her and growing old together. She didn't even _like_ rocking chairs. This was supposed to be a fling. An ill-advised romp with a sexy younger man, all blonde hair and blue eyes and umlauts on his vowels. It was never meant to be forever.

She slid her hand along the cool sheets beside her one more time.

Of course, if she said yes, she'd save on heating costs in the winter.

* * *

Evelyn locked the door behind Chester and made her way back up the stairs to the guest room. Everyone had been so exhausted by the end of the reception that no one had noticed she'd brought a guest home with her. Of course, the fact that all of the adults were half-drunk had probably worked in her favour. And as for the children, well... they had more than enough to think about as it was. There were going to be _questions_ in the morning, and if they didn't have satisfactory _answers_ , things were going to get rather uncomfortable.

Evelyn rubbed her hands together and cackled gleefully. She couldn't _wait_ for morning.

 


	31. Chapter 31

After securing the last piece of tape, Evelyn stood back with her hands on her hips and nodded with satisfaction at a job well done. It had taken her half the night, most of the ink in the printer, and a flare up of her arthritis after all of that cutting, but it was finally done. She just hoped she hadn't missed anything.

"Let's see..." she said to herself, her index finger tapping on her lips and her thumb pressed to the bottom of her chin. "Pregnant, engaged, married..." Honestly, the number of secrets those two children were keeping! Was it any wonder they were working for an extra-governmental spy agency? Considering the fact that their mothers were actively encouraging all of those activities, she thought they might have been working there too long. "Secrets for secrets' sake are just silliness," she tutted.

Of course, Jemma'd let the cat out of the bag about the pregnancy in just about the least spy-like way possible. After, of course, Leo revealing their engagement in the space of a single conversation with people he'd just met! In a location where just anyone could overhear, and the worst possible someone _had_. And the marriage! Well, according to her sisters, the two of them had been as open about it as you please as soon as anyone spoke about the baby.

Perhaps it was for the best they were working in America. They could reveal as many of _those_ secrets as they please as long as they left England strong.

At any rate, none of that was getting her any sleep at all. With a yawn and a stretch, she nodded to herself. She had enough time for a quick nap before everyone would be waking up for breakfast. She didn't want to miss this!

* * *

Jemma woke up because her back felt cold.

She frowned into her pillow and scrunched up her nose, trying to pull her blanket up over her shoulder. She groaned quietly when her tug met resistance, and then she rolled over to see what it was caught on. Her frown softened into a sleepy smile as she saw Fitz sprawled out on his back with his mouth slightly open and his arms in what had to be a very awkward position.

He was adorable.

Not wanting to disturb him, she lay with her head propped up on her hand and watched him sleep until a small snort and a wiggle of his nose made her think he might be waking up. Quickly, she rolled away from him and got out of bed so that he wouldn't catch her out.

She'd gathered her clothes to get dressed for the day by the time she realized he was still asleep. Another smile crept across her face as she looked at him there in her bed, all ruffled hair and flushed cheeks, and she decided that she wanted to take a picture.

Unfortunately, her purse was downstairs so she couldn't use her phone.

Fortunately, she knew Fitz's lockscreen code.

* * *

"C'mon, love," Jezza prodded his wife gently. "Time to get up." Kicking her shoes out of his way so he could step closer to her side of the bed, he leaned over her and kissed her on the cheek as he pulled her blankets off.

"Ohhh," Emma moaned, grabbing the blankets and pulling them back up. "Noooo," she whispered with a hoarse voice.

"I've got Tylenol," he bribed.

"Nooo- you do?" Emma asked, still not opening her eyes.

"Mmhmm," Jezza nodded. "And a nice, big glass of water to help with the dehydration."

"What about-?" she mumbled with a vague gesture behind him.

"The drapes are drawn shut tight, and I've your sunglasses right here in case you need them."

"Breakfast?" she asked, risking movement enough to roll from her side onto her back. "Oh god," she moaned, placing one hand on her forehead and the other on her stomach to stop them both from swirling. "Nevermind."

"Water first," Jezza said firmly. "And _then_ we'll worry about the rest."

Emma nodded and immediately regretted it. "Why did you let me drink so much last night?" she asked, cracking one eye open so that she could glare at her husband.

"It wasn't entirely _my_ idea," Jezza answered mildly. "And I'm not in much better shape."

"Love you?" Emma said meekly, opening her other eye and them closing them both against the faint light coming into the room.

"Love you too," Jezza said, stooping to kiss her one more time. "Now drink."

* * *

Geri closed her laptop with a small snap. She'd caught up on her emails, drafted several letters, and read through a bill that was to be discussed in the House the following week. She hadn't, however, slept.

Much as all those things were important and had to be done, they were convenient excuses to avoid the issue she'd been avoiding since the last time Erik had come up to visit her in Dundee.

He'd been remarkably sweet about the whole thing. His proposal had been less a romantic declaration and more a bulleted list of supported reasons for why she should become his wife. Or, as he'd phrased it, "Why you should allow me the honour of becoming your husband." He'd been more prepared for her arguments than her opposition colleagues in the House ever were, and he'd deflected almost all of them with a skill that had both impressed and annoyed her.

Really, her only sticking point that he couldn't parry had been Leo.

And then Leo himself had gone and taken away that excuse and left her with having to make up her own mind.

Geraldine Fitz was not used to not knowing her own mind. She'd never had an indecisive moment in her life, as far back as her childhood. There was no sense in waffling about things. You just had to made a choice and then deal with the consequences. If things worked out, so much the better. If they didn't, you admitted your mistake, learned from it, and moved on to the next choice better armed to make the decision.

If anyone she knew were being this namby pamby about anything, she'd have been hard pressed not to cuff them about the ears and tell them to get on with things already.

With a deep breath, she got up from the desk and grabbed her purse. It was time to do something about that ring.

Opening up her bag, however, she was horrified to realize it was gone.

* * *

Jemma snuck over to Fitz's jacket where it was slung over the back of her desk chair. His phone hadn't been in his trouser pocket, so it must be there because she'd seen him collect it from the table.

Reaching into the pocket, however, her hand didn't connect with the case of his iPhone. It slid over a soft cube with rounded corners. Curious, she pulled the object out. Then she stared.

A ring box? She looked over at Fitz, still passed out and just barely snoring. Why did he have a ring box?

She felt a surge of adrenaline and a sudden increase in her heart rate as she bit her lower lip. It wouldn't be... Would it? Her stomach swooped as she stared at the black velvet and held her breath. As quietly as she could, she cracked the lid and opened it.

The sunlight coming in through her curtains made the diamond sparkle and dance in front of her eyes, and she couldn't contain her gasp. "It's beautiful," she whispered, feeling herself flush. Her mouth felt dry and her hands shook as she looked at what was quite clearly an engagement ring.

"Fitz," she breathed, not quiet believing what she was seeing. But then, he'd called her his fiance with such assurance that even _she_ had believed it for a fraction of a second. And he hadn't batted an eye about claiming they were married. She looked down at her left hand where she was still wearing her braided band. "No rush," she whispered, blinking rapidly as her swirling emotions were bringing tears to her eyes.

Fitz was going to propose. To her.

Shaking fingers took the ring out of the box and slid it onto her finger in front of the band that was already there.


	32. Chapter 32

Jemma had no sooner slipped the ring on her finger than her critical thinking skills came back into play.

  * When would Fitz have had the time to step out to a _jewellery store_ and buy her a gorgeous _engagement ring_?
  * How would he even _afford_ such a ring?
  * Even if he hadn't bought it in the _last three days_ , he wouldn't have had any reason to buy it before then because they'd only kissed for the first time two days previously
  * Why would he have brought it to _someone else's wedding_?
  * If he _had_ been planning to pop this particular question, he'd missed a fairly perfect opportunity when they were holding hands outside of the reception hall



Shaking her head at her own ridiculousness, Jemma had to admit that she was being a bit of an idiot. They had just barely decided to go on a date together. They were _not_ ready to start thinking about _marriage!_ Clearly, Fitz had come by this ring by accident.

She wondered who he was holding it for. It wasn't like Fitz had known anyone at the wedding besides their parents, so who would have entrusted him with this sort of responsibility?

She pulled on the ring to take it off as she mentally went through the wedding guests and tried to think of who the ring might belong to.

She was still pulling when she'd gone through everyone she'd known at the reception.

Looking at her finger in wide-eyed horror, she yanked harder on the band and proceeded only in making her finger hurt.

"Damnit!" she cursed, shaking out her now-aching hand.

"Hmm?" Fitz mumbled from the bed, half-raising his head.

Jemma looked over at him and her horror multiplied. Fitz could _not_ see her like this!

* * *

Geri stuck her lower lip out and huffed a breath up to blow her hair out of her face. Her face was a portrait of determination as she overturned the last cushion in the room and surveyed the contents of her luggage now exploded over every surface. Swiping a hand across her forehead to mop up the perspiration beading there, she let out a word that her son probably didn't realize she even _knew_.

"Where the bloody hell _is_ the blasted thing?" she asked desperately. She'd gone downstairs and checked her bag, her jacket pockets, the bathroom counters on both floors... She just kept coming back to the study where she'd been sleeping the last few nights and ransacking it further and further. She looked at the mess rather guiltily. Emma wouldn't be much bothered by it, she knew, but she still felt badly.

Not as badly as she felt about _losing Erik's ring_ , however.

With a barely muffled scream of frustration, she started putting the room back to rights while carefully checking each cranny and crevice for where the ring might have ended up.

Erik was going to bloody _murder_ her!

* * *

"S'wrong?" Fitz yawned from the bed as he pushed himself into a half-sitting position. He scrubbed a hand through his hair and down his face and smacked his lips once or twice. Ugh. Kissing was probably _not_ advised until after tooth brushing had been accomplished. Still, there was more to life than kissing. Probably.

Jemma shook her head in the negative, her lips pressed tight together to stop herself from blurting out the issue.

"C'mere," he mumbled, patting the mattress beside him. "Come back to bed. S'too early to get up." He held the blanket up invitingly and offered her a sleepy, crooked smile.

Jemma blushed and opened her mouth to say something but closed it again almost immediately. Five minutes couldn't hurt, could it? Fitz wasn't even awake. That would give her some time to figure out how to get the stupid thing _off_.

Fitz sighed happily as Jemma returned to the bed beside him, curled up on her side with her back to him. He pulled her back against him and spooned her, nuzzling his head between her neck and shoulder.

"S'much better," he mumbled contentedly.

Jemma smiled to herself and had to admit he had a point. She'd had no idea that Fitz was this snuggly, especially not first thing in the morning. He was usually a bit of a bear when he first woke up, but here he was being an absolute sweetheart. A girl could get used to it.

"Just five minutes," Jemma said, even as she burrowed further under the covers and wiggled back against him.

Fitz shifted his hips away from her and pulled her closer to his chest, wrapping his arms around her. "How about ten?" he bargained, kissing her shoulder and running a hand down her arm.

Jemma laughed softly with her eyes closed, enjoying this affectionate new Fitz and wondering what that might mean for them when they were back in America again. She was just pondering the logistics of a sleepover at her apartment when Fitz's hand finished its path along her arm and grabbed her hand.

Fitz frowned as he felt an unfamiliar lump on Jemma's hand and lifted it up. They both froze as it came into his view.

"Jemma?" he asked in what he considered to be a remarkably calm voice.

"Y-yes?" Jemma asked, her heart in her throat.

"Do I want to know why you happened to have an engagement ring lying around in your bedroom?"

* * *

Emma groaned into a large cup of coffee and shook her head slowly but emphatically.

" _Engaged_ , Mum," she disagreed. "Not _married._ "

"I'm telling you," Evelyn insisted. "They're _married_. They said so themselves!"

"When?" Emma sighed, rubbing her temples and willing the Tylenol to start working.

"Last night, to Helen," Evelyn said.

"Who?" Emma squinted at her mother. She was just so tired of all of these surprises. Especially when she was feeling like this.

"Aunt Blue," Evelyn rolled her eyes.

"Her name's Helen?" Emma asked, picturing her blue-haired aunt. She never been anyone but 'Aunt Blue' to her.

"Focus, Emma!" Evelyn ordered sharply.

Emma groaned and covered her ears with her hands. "Not so shouty!" she begged.

"You expect me not to shout when my own _granddaughter_ got married **and** pregnant without so much as a by-your-leave?" Evelyn asked incredulously. "I mean, I'm _trying_ to be supportive," she waved a hand at her decorative handiwork. "But that's only because it _your_ place, not mine, to have a talk with that girl!"

"I will, Mum," Emma assured her, waving a hand at her to calm down. And to lower the decibels. "I will. _After_ I finish my coffee."

Evelyn rolled her eyes again and sighed. "I'll get another pot started."

* * *

"Fitz!" Jemma sighed, throwing up her hands in exasperation. "It's not from bloody _Isaac_!" They were whisper-shouting at each other from either side of her bed. So much for the quiet cuddles of a few minutes before.

"Then who _is_ it from?" Fitz asked, hands placed high on his hips. "Just how many boyfriends are you juggling, anyway?"

Jemma clenched her jaw and drew in a deep breath threw her nose. "Just the _one_ ," she said tightly, narrowing her eyes. "Although I'm rapidly wondering if _zero_ might be the better number."

"So it _is_ from Isaac!" Fitz concluded, throwing up his own hands and spinning around so his back was to her.

Jemma let out a long, loud groan of frustration. How could someone so intelligent be so completely and utterly thick? "When I put it on," she said angrily. "I thought it was from _you_!" She yanked on the ring again, wincing in pain and swearing again.

Fitz turned back around to stare at her, surprise all over his face. "Me?" he asked quietly.

"I know, I know," Jemma nodded, trying to twist it off now. Her finger was pink and bruising from all of her tugging. "But I was still half-asleep, and it was in _your_ jacket pocket, and-"

"And you put it on?" Fitz asked slowly, making his way around the bed.

"Well, I thought it was for _me_ , didn't I?" Jemma said defensively, pulling at it desperately.

Fitz gently removed her right hand from where it was practically tearing her ring finger off of her left and massaged her poor aching digit. "Hey," he said softly. Jemma looked up at him, clearly embarrassed. "Honest mistake," he smiled.

"But-"

"Considering the last few days, I don't blame you one bit."

"Really?"

"Really."

"So," Jemma said, clearing her throat and looking away from Fitz's intense gaze. "If the ring isn't yours, and it's certainly not _mine_..."

Fitz nodded and he bit his lip in thought. "Then who does it belong to?"

* * *

"If they're already married," Emma said, now that she was onto her second large mug of coffee. "Then why did they have an engagement ring in a box?"

"You could ask the same question if they were already engaged," Evelyn pointed out from where she had her head inside the refrigerator. She popped out with a new carton of cream and opened it up. "And I suppose the answer there is that they weren't planning on saying anything."

"But why bring it _with_ them to the wedding?" Emma asked, still confused. "Why not just leave it here?"

"Leave what here?" Geri asked, coming into the kitchen. Her shoulders were slumped in defeat and she looked more than a little upset.

"Jemma's engagement ring," Evelyn and Emma said at the same time.

"But she was wearing it," Geri said as she went over to a cupboard and opened it up. "The ring Leo gave her for her birthday." She pulled out a mug and moved over to the coffee maker hoping that some caffeine might help her remember where she'd put Erik's ring.

"That's the wedding band," Evelyn said while Emma said, "Not that one. The diamond."

Geri looked from one woman to the other while holding the coffee carafe in one hand and an empty mug in the other.

"I'm going to need someone to start explaining," she said. " _Right now_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shoutout to atomicsupervillainess for "Aunt Blue"


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're going to try a few methods of getting the ring off in this chapter, so feel free to take a look at [this WikiHow article](http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-a-Stuck-Ring) before you read so that you have an idea of what I'm talking about. The dental floss trick is just beyond my current descriptive powers (and describing it would take away from the action anyway) :D [lazy author is lazy af]

Jezza frowned into the phone and heaved an uncertain breath. "I'm not sure that's a good-" he started, shaking his head slowly.

"No, I understand that, but-" his right hand paused, mid-gesture as he was interrupted again.

"But don't you think you sh-" He bowed his head and dragged his teeth over his upper lip. Then, he clapped his hand against his cheek and scratched his beard.

"Well, obviously I can't stop you, but-" Squeezing his eyes shut in emotional pain, he leaned forward until his forehead was pressed against the wall.

"Right," he sighed, giving up entirely. "Should I at least-?"

He nodded and then tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling. "Alright," he agreed, against his better judgement. Then, he hung up.

Still staring at the ceiling as if in entreaty, he moaned, "This is going to go _so poorly._ "

* * *

Fitz squeezed another dollop of hand soap on Jemma's finger and rubbed it around the band.

"It's not _doing_ anything, Fitz!" Jemma fretted. She was terrified that they might do something to damage the ring and even _more_ terrified of never getting the blasted thing off her finger. She knew how much engagement rings cost, and there was no way she could afford to replace one. They'd just have to cut off her finger to get it off!

"Give me a second," Fitz urged through clenched teeth as he turned the ring left and right, trying to loosen it along her finger. While it was happy enough to turn in circles, it still wouldn't come off.

"Oh, it's no use!" Jemma moaned.

Fitz grinned at her a bit sheepishly. "Maybe it's a sign?" he suggested. Then he ducked as she moved to smack the side of his head.

"Not the time, _Leo_ ," Jemma glared at him.

"Right," he nodded, still smiling. Then he tried to turn the ring again.

* * *

"Married," Geri said, flatly, looking from Emma to Evelyn with the least amused face either woman had ever seen.

"Well, _yes_ ," Emma said a bit hesitantly. "But remember," she added quickly. "That's what we were hoping for!"

" _In another year or two!_ " Geri exploded. She slammed her mug down on the kitchen table, sloshing coffee all over the surface as well as her skirt. "Oh, _bloody hell!_ " She stood up as the scalding liquid started to seep through the material.

"Take if off!" Evelyn said, her eyes wide in distress. "You'll burn yourself!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Ev-" Geri was cut off by Evelyn moving quickly behind her and unzipping her skirt. "What are you _doing_?"

Evelyn pushed the skirt over Geri's hips and down to the floor. "Saving your skin," she said. "Literally!"

Emma bustled over to them with a tea towel and a damp cloth, bending over to pat Geri dry. "Erm," she said, thinking better of it and passing her the towel. "Maybe you should do that yourself?" she smiled wanly.

Geri snatched the towel from Emma's outstretched hand and started wiping her now pink thighs dry of the hot coffee. "I swear to God, if Jezza walks in..." Geri threatened.

"I'll cut him off at the pass!" Evelyn said cheerfully. She jabbed one excited finger into the air and scurried over to the kitchen door to stand watch.

* * *

"You really think putting your hand in the air's going to help?" Fitz asked, wrinkling his nose skeptically.

"It should drain out some of the blood and reduce the swelling," Jemma nodded as she waited patiently with her hand raised above her shoulder. "I'm afraid all of that tugging's just making it more difficult to take it off."

Fitz nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. He raised his right hand up to his chin and pressed to fingers against his lips as he pondered the ring and the contents of the bathroom. If lubricant hadn't worked, he'd just have to find another way to pull it.

"Between this and the cool water I soaked my hand in..." she trailed off hopefully.

"If it doesn't work," Fitz said slowly as he peered at the shelf under the mirror, "I've got another idea."

* * *

Geri stalked her way up the stairs to the second floor washroom, cursing under her breath and hating the sticky feeling of the dried coffee on her legs.

" _Married_!" she whispered to herself, shaking her head. "I'm going to have to have a _long_ talk with that boy." She paused just outside the half-open bathroom door when she heard talking from the other side.

"... Just twist it," Fitz was saying.

"Are you sure?" Jemma asked. "I don't see how-"

"Trust me," Fitz said confidently. "It'll come right off."

"Well, alright," Jemma shrugged. Grabbing the end of the dental floss that was looped under the ring, she started to unwind it along the length of her finger. To her amazement, it seemed to be working. "Fitz!" she stared at him in frank appreciation. "You genius!" As soon as she had this ring off her hand, she was going to kiss him til he couldn't _breathe._

"Yes, well," Fitz shrugged not at all modestly and grinned at her. If this didn't earn him some brownie points, he didn't know what would.

They both started as the bathroom door was pushed open angrily and a glowering Geri entered the room. "Leo," she said in the tone of voice that meant he was in dangerous trouble.

"Mum!" Fitz said, turning to her with a guilty expression. He didn't know what he'd done, but clearly it was bad. He didn't have time to scour his memory, however, because he was distracted by what he saw. "Mum?" he said in absolute confusion. "Why are you in your pants?"

Jemma tried not to look at Geri's legs as she continued to work the ring along her finger. It was rather awkward to be in the room when Fitz's mother was on the rampage at him, but with both of them between her and the door, she wasn't exactly going anywhere any time soon. Instead, she tried to just make herself as small as possible behind him.

Geri flushed in embarrassment, having forgotten why she'd come upstairs in the first place. "That's not the point," she said haughtily. "What's this I hear about the two of you being _married_?" she said in an even more dangerous tone than before.

"I can explain!" Fitz said hurriedly, raising both hands in defense and taking a step toward her.

"I'll just _bet_ you can," Geri said sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest.

"We're not-" Fitz's words were cut off as he slipped on a patch of hand soap that had dripped on the floor during their earlier attempts at ring removal. He bent over almost double, but managed to catch himself before he fell.

His movement, however, revealed what it was that Jemma was doing behind him, and Geri frowned in confusion. "Why in the world are you wearing my ring?" she asked.

" _Your_ ring?" Jemma and Fitz asked, both immediately staring at her.

The doorbell rang downstairs as Jemma inadvertently gave one last tug on the floss, and they all watched helplessly as the ring flew off her finger and dropped into the washbasin where it circled lazily for half a rotation before wobbling over and into the drain.

All three of them gasped in horror, and then Jezza's voice rang up from the bottom of the stairs.

"Geri?" he called up. "There's someone here to see you."


	34. Chapter 34

Geri stood in front of Erik panting slightly after her mad dash down the stairs and clutching at the towel she had wrapped around her waist.

"Is-" Erik blinked, nonplussed. "Is now a bad time, then?" he asked hesitantly.

"It is a bit," Geri nodded in a businesslike way. "I was just-" she paused, trying to think of what reason she could possibly have for being half-dressed at half ten in the morning. "Getting dressed?" she tried. 

"Right," Erik nodded awkwardly. "I shouldn't have come by so early after a wedding."

"It's fine," Geri reassured him quickly, raising a hand but not quite touching him. "It's-" she lowered her hand again, wiping it on the makeshift terry cloth skirt she wore. "Was there something you...?" she trailed off. "I mean-" God, she hadn't felt this awkward in _years_. It was _not_ pleasant.

"I wanted to ask you," Erik interrupted her. "Oh, sorry."

"No! Go ahead," Geri nodded, smiling nervously. Inside, she was screaming at herself for behaving like a girl with her first crush, but she couldn't seem to stop herself.

Erik cleared his throat and nodded. "Well, it's just," he shrugged and seemed to be rethinking whatever it was he wanted to say. "Yesterday, I had coffee with Fitz and Jezza, and Fitz..." he struggled again for words. "Well, I think we got on quite well?" he looked at Geri as if asking for help.

"You did?" Geri asked, and she couldn't help the hopeful little catch in her voice when she said it.

Erik let out the breath he was holding and gave her a crooked smile. "He's a brilliant boy, Geri," he said sincerely. "You must be very proud of him."

Geri smiled back and nodded. "I really am," she agreed, taking a half step closer to him.

"Mum!" Fitz called down from the top of the stairs. "I've got it out!"

Geri froze just before stepping into Erik's arms and turned to look up the stairs. Relief washed over her and she turned and gave Erik a quick, hard kiss. "Be right back, love," she said. And then she dashed back up the stairs, leaving Erik just as nonplussed as he'd been when he'd arrived.

* * *

"Who was that at the door," Fitz asked as Geri burst back into the bathroom and grabbed the ring he held between thumb and forefinger.

"Hmm?" Geri asked as she inspected it for damage. "Oh, Erik," she said distractedly. Finishing her assessment, she sighed and finally relaxed. 

"Erik?" Fitz asked casually, wiping his hands clean on a towel.

"Mmhmm," Geri nodded, realizing that she might have wanted to be a bit more circumspect in her answer. "Now if you'll excuse me, I still haven't cleaned myself up after spilling coffee everywhere."

"But-" Fitz tried to speak, but his mother pushed him out of the bathroom and shut the door in his face. "Why did he want to see  _you_?" Fitz called through the door.

"We'll talk about it later, Leo," Geri shouted back. "Now give your poor mum five minutes to get herself together."

* * *

"So, Erik," Emma said brightly as she poured him a cup of coffee in the kitchen. "How are things with you and Geri?"

Erik laughed wryly and shook his head. "You'd be better off asking _her_ that," he smiled. "But  _I_ think they're going well."

"Who'd have thought when we introduced you last summer that you'd get on so well?" Emma smiled.  

Jezza wrapped his arms around her from behind and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "Well, me for a start," he grinned. 

"Oh, Jezza," Emma slapped his hands playfully. "Always the matchmaker."

"Says the woman who flew two children across the Atlantic Ocean in order to make them go on a date," Jezza teased, tickling her ribs before releasing her.

"Yes,  _well_ ," Emma said with a deep breath. "Apparently, that wasn't at all necessary, was it?" She shook her head. 

"What do you mean?" Erik asked, taking a sip.

Jezza shook his head behind Emma, waving his arms to stop him, but it was too late.

"It turns out that Jemma and Fitz are not only  _dating_ , but actually married and pregnant!" Emma said, halfway between proud and scandalized. "All without telling their parents a  _thing!_ "

Erik frowned and looked at Jezza. "But I thought you said-?" he started, but stopped when he finally noticed his friend's desperate pantomime.

Emma turned slowly around and looked at a very guilty Jezza. Crossing her arms, she narrowed her eyes and pinned him with a glare. "Jeremy Simmons," she said in a tone that spelled nothing but trouble for her husband. " _What_ is going on?"

* * *

"Jemma?" Fitz asked slowly, scratching a hand through his hair. 

"Yes?" Jemma asked as she finished making her bed. 

"I think-" he paused and chewed his lip in indecision.

Jemma looked at him expectantly. "You think?" she prompted. 

Fitz frowned and looked back over his shoulder at where his mother was locked in the bathroom. "That  _was_ an engagement ring, wasn't it?" he asked, not entirely believing it.

Jemma's eyes widened. She'd put two and two together already, but it seemed that Fitz had come to the same conclusion she had. "It certainly  _seemed_ to be one," she said noncommittally. She drew in a breath and asked, "Why?"

Fitz rubbed two fingers across his lips and rested his other hand high on his hip. "And Erik's downstairs..." he muttered to himself as he walked across her room.

"Fitz?" Jemma asked, peering at him in concern.

" _She hasn't said yes yet_..." he mumbled under his breath, pacing back toward the door.

"Who hasn't?" Jemma asked.

 " _Challenging woman_..." Fitz said softly, moving back to the window.

"Who is?" Jemma asked again. She hated when he got like this, working out a problem out loud but not letting her in on it til he'd reached the end. 

Fitz stared out the window for a few long minutes, and then finally he turned around and looked at Jemma with a slightly gobsmacked impression.

"Jemma," he said quietly. "I think my mum's got a boyfriend."

* * *

Geri paused outside of the kitchen to listen in on what was being said. 

"...really  _were_ just friends," Jezza said. 

"But-" Emma frowned.

"They've only just kissed for the first time two days ago," Jezza said.

"Wait a moment," Emma held up a hand. "First of all,  _you're_ the one who said they were engaged."

Jezza had the grace to look sheepish. "Yes, well," he cleared his throat awkwardly. "About that."

" _And_ Jemma said she was pregnant!" Evelyn put in. "Does that mean Fitz isn't the baby daddy?"

Emma winced and closed her eyes. " _Please_ never use that term again, mum," she begged. "Ever."

"And how do  _you_ know they've only just kissed?" Emma asked, looking at her husband. "Did Jemma tell you?" She put her hands on her hips. "And if she did, why didn't she tell  _me?_ " Pausing for a moment, Emma thought of something else. "Why didn't  _you_ tell me?"

Jezza held up his hands in self-defense. "Technically,  _Fitz_ told me," he said. "Or, I told myself?" He frowned in confusion. "It's all a bit muddled, I'm afraid."

Geri walked in with a frown on her face and her arms crossed over her chest. "Well,  **un** muddle it," she said forcefully. 

"Well, it's like this..." Jezza started.

* * *

Jemma on her bed next to Fitz with her arm around his shoulders. She gave him a comforting squeeze. "Would it be so bad?" she asked. "Your mum dating?"

"No!" Fitz shook his head quickly. "It'd be brilliant! It's just..."

"Just?" Jemma prompted. 

Fitz looked at her, kicked puppy expression firmly in place. "Why didn't she ever say?" he asked quietly. "Did she really think I'd..."

Jemma hugged him and rubbed his back. "Shh," she whispered into his ear. "She thought no such thing," she said firmly.

"But why else would she not say yes?" Fitz asked.

"To Erik?" 

Fitz nodded glumly.

"Lots of reasons," Jemma said reasonably.

"Really?" Fitz asked, looking rather surprised.

"Of course," Jemma answered. "For instance, when James proposed to me-"

"James?" Fitz said, completely shocked. "That bloke you dated second year?"

Jemma nodded in confirmation. "Yes, when he proposed-"

"He  _proposed_?" Fitz asked, his voice cracking slightly. 

" _Yes_ ," Jemma rolled her eyes. "Pay attention, Fitz," she admonished him. "When James proposed," she paused, one eyebrow raised, waiting for another interruption. When none came, she continued, "I was focused on finishing at the Academy and getting my career in SHIELD started." She shrugged. "He was nice enough to have for a boyfriend, but there was no way I was going to marry  _anyone_ at that time."

"Because of your career?" Fitz asked. He had no trouble believing it.

"Exactly," Jemma nodded. "I had entirely too many things still to accomplish to want to put anything on hold for marriage and babies."

"Babies?" Fitz asked. "Who said anything about babies?"

"Besides the entire reception last night?" Jemma asked with a wry chuckle. "Anyway, marriage just wasn't compatible with my life at the time." She shrugged again. "Your mum is making quite the strides in her party just now, so I wouldn't blame her in the least if she decided to put her career ahead of her love life."

Fitz nodded, scratching his cheek in thought. "Erik's a nice guy, though," he put in.

"I don't think liking him is the problem," Jemma said gently.

Fitz nodded again and they sat together in silence for a while. 

Finally, he cleared his throat and tried to sound casual. "So, now that we're done at the Academy and level 3 agents at Sci-Ops..." he started, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Yes?" Jemma asked, licking her lips a bit nervously. 

"Well," Fitz shrugged. "I mean, it's just..." he cleared his throat again.

"Just...?" Jemma asked.

"Nothing," Fitz shook his head and smiled. "Was just thinking that we had our careers pretty well sorted is all."

Jemma smiled back and blushed. "We certainly do," she agreed.

* * *

"I can't believe you stole that poor boy's phone!" Emma shook her head, disappointed.

"I didn't realize at first!" Jezza said defensively. "How was I to know we had the same unlock code?"

"What your unlock code?" Evelyn asked curiously. 

"Jemma's birthday," Jezza said. "Although I've changed mine now. Better safe."

"You should tell that to Leo, as well," Evelyn mumbled into her coffee. 

"But after you  _did_ realize," Emma said sternly. "You  _read_ his  _texts_?" Standing on her tiptoes, she reached up and swatted him on the back of his head. "How  _could_ you?" she said, scandalized. 

Jezza cowered back from her, his face full of guilt. "It just sort of... happened?" he said miserably. 

"Don't give me, 'it just sort of happened,' Jeremy!" Emma said, clearly furious. "I've half a mind to have you arrested for invasion of privacy!"

"Now, darling," Jezza started, trying to placate her.

"Mum? Dad?" Jemma asked as she and Fitz entered the scene in the kitchen. "Is everything alright?" She couldn't ever remember her parents arguing like that before.

Emma scowled at her husband before turning her glare on her daughter. She pointed imperiously to two empty chairs at the kitchen table. "Sit," she ordered them. "We're getting this whole thing straightened out _right now_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When Fitz is muttering to himself and figuring out that Geri and Erik are a couple, he's quoting what Erik said in the reception 20 chapters ago. Don't worry if you didn't remember. I had to go back and look it up, myself!
> 
> Only 1-2 chapters to go!


	35. Chapter 35

Erik stared down at the notes he'd started taking very early on in the conversation. Shaking his head and blowing out an overwhelmed breath, all he could do was scratch his head. For a man who could do partial differential equations as easily as he could tie his shoes, this was an unaccustomed feeling. When each step was taken individually, it did seem to follow a certain logic.

  * Emma and Geri notice that Fitz and Jemma seem to make a good couple, so they decide to set them up on a date
  * They decide to make the date a wedding? In England? But not really a date because they are only pretending to date in order to convince Evelyn that they're dating for real because        ??         



He paused, letting the various arguments springing up on all sides of the table wash past him. Perhaps 'logic' wasn't the right word to use. At any rate...

  * Fitz and Jemma agree to pretend to be dating in order to fool Evelyn, and then decide to pretend that they are really dating in order to fool Emma and Geri and Jezza? because        ??        
  * Fitz feels bad about lying to Jezza, so they tell Jezza they're pretending to really date and are actually really just pretending to date
  * Jemma and Fitz decide they should kiss in order to convince everyone they're really together for real and not pretending
  * Laura and Tinny still think they're pretending, so Fitz tells them Jemma's his fiance
  * Jezza overhears and thinks they're really engaged
  * Jezza tells Emma and Geri that Fitz and Jemma are engaged
  * Jemma tells the wedding reception that she's pregnant? because        ??        
  * Jemma and Fitz tell the great aunts they're married? because        ??        
  * the great aunts tell Evelyn that Fitz and Jemma are married
  * Evelyn tells Geri and Emma and Jezza that Fitz and Jemma are married
  * Jezza tells everyone that they are neither married nor engaged and have in fact just started dating?



That last point seemed to be a central controversy in much of the arguing. Erik couldn't help but think that the various points being bandied about along the lines of "trust" and "honesty" were a bit of an interesting choice, what with all of the various intrigue that had happened amongst the family in just the last few days.

And this was a family he was trying to join?

He chuckled to himself and scratched his chin thoughtfully as he looked at each of the people around the table. They really did care about each other quite a lot, even if they showed it in a very strange way. He nodded to himself and then cleared his throat loudly, catching everyone's attention.

"Yes, thank you," he said, acknowledging their silence. "Now, I think I've got a handle on most of what's been happening," he said slowly. "But if you don't mind, I still have a few questions."

Fitz leaned over to Jemma and mumbled out of the corner of his mouth, "He dates my mum for five minutes, and he thinks he's a part of the family?"

"Fitz! Hush!" Jemma whispered back, smacking him lightly in the chest. She turned to Erik with an overly keen expression and asked, "What can we clear up for you, Erik?"

Erik smiled politely and inclined his head in thanks. "First of all, why was it that the two of you wished to convince everyone you were actually dating?"

Jemma's smile froze and her eyes shifted guiltily. "Ah," she said awkwardly. "Well, you see," she looked at Fitz, clearly seeking his help with the question. "We..." She widened her eyes even more, raising her eyebrows and elbowing him to take over.

"We didn't want to have to talk about it all the time," Fitz finished for her. When she glared at him, he shrugged at her and mouthed, 'What?'

Jemma rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Oh, _thanks_ for that," Geri said sarcastically. "You just want to shut your mum up, do you?" She pierced her son with an unimpressed look, and Fitz returned it with an apologetic one of his own.

"Actually," Erik said mildly. "I have a question for you as well, Geri."

"Oh yes?" Geri asked innocently.

"Why did you and Emma decide that this was the best way to set Fitz and Jemma up on a date?"

Geri flushed and quickly lifted her coffee mug to take a sip. "Emma?" she said, shifting the question over to her friend.

Emma raised her head haughtily, determined not to look apologetic. "We've been trying to get the two of them together from across the pond for almost seven years now, and it hasn't worked," she explained matter-of-factly. "Clearly, the only way to make sure that they gave it a proper go was to oversee the process directly."

"Ah," Erik nodded, adding a note to his legal pad. "That explains the room arrangements."

Jezza harumphed at the other end of the table and crossed his arms over his barrel chest.

Emma rolled her eyes and smacked her husband lightly on the arm. "Get over it, Jezza. She's 24 years old, she's hardly a _virgin_!"

Jezza and Fitz both went into a coughing fit over that one, while Jemma merely turned a rather bright pink.

"Of _course_ she's not," Evelyn pointed out. "Unless there's a star in the east or some such nonsense."

"I'm _not pregnant_ ," Jemma insisted for what felt like the hundredth time.

"They why did you say that you _are_?" at least three people asked her at the same time.

"I _told_ you I can't say," Jemma shook her head firmly. "But I promise you, I'm _not_." She folded her arms over her chest, looking just as put out as her father. "I'll take any test you'd like me to take to _prove_ it, but I'd like to think you could believe me."

"Oh _really_?" Evelyn asked, one sharp eyebrow practically in her hairline.

"The pregnancy was actually my next question," Erik interrupted diplomatically. "But we can move past that to the marriage, if you'd prefer?" he asked solicitously.

Jemma nodded stiffly and Fitz squeezed her knee in support before speaking. "That just sort of happened because of the ... misunderstanding about the pregnancy," Fitz explained. "Jemma's aunts were a bit upset by the idea of her being an unwed mum, you see," he shrugged. "And she was already wearing a band on her other hand, so..."

"So I moved it to my left hand, and we said we'd got married in America," Jemma finished for him. "But it was just for the aunts, you see!" she added a bit desperately. "It wasn't meant to get back to all of you!"

Evelyn shook her head and tutted. "Oh Jemma, sweetheart," she said pityingly. "You have _no idea_ how this family talks."

"So it would seem," Jemma agreed a bit bitterly.

"So that really _was_ just a birthday gift, then?" Erik asked, pointing to the ring that Jemma had moved back to her right hand during an early round of accusations.

"Yes!" Jemma and Fitz answered together, clearly tired of the question.

"Alright," Erik nodded, looking once more at his notes. "I think we've established most of the timelines and difficulties, except one."

"Which one's that?" Jezza asked with some curiosity. He hoped it wasn't anything to do with him absconding with Fitz's phone. He doubted he'd _ever_ hear the last of that one until the day he died, but he was rather hopeful he might get a bit of a respite at least.

"How did _Jemma_ ," he pointed to her, "End up wearing m-" he stopped himself mid-word and shifted tracks. " _Geri_ 's ring?"

Jemma shrugged helplessly. "I tried it on after I found it in Fitz's jacket pocket, but I've no idea how it got there."

"I put it there," Jezza admitted, raising one hand a bit sheepishly. "Your mother and grandmother wanted to confront you about it at the reception last night, but I insisted they let you tell us in your own time."

"And was that because you'd already hacked Fitz's phone?" Emma asked frostily.

"It was hardly _hacking_!" Jezza said defensively. "We had the same unlock code!"

"Yeah, I've changed that now, thanks," Fitz grumbled. When Jemma looked at him a bit hurt, he nudged her with his elbow and offered her a crooked grin. "Tell you later," he reassured her.

"Well, how did _you_ get it, then?" Geri asked, frowning in confusion. "It was in _my_ bag."

Evelyn cleared her throat a bit awkwardly. "That's my fault, actually," she said. She had the grace to blush.

"Mum?" Emma asked, surprised.

Evelyn huffed defensively. "Well, all of your bags look the same, and _someone_ 's bloody phone was ringing, and I just dumped them all out on the table, and then Jemma said she was pregnant and who _else_ was I supposed to think it belonged to?" She sat up a bit straighter, ready for protests. "It's not like _I_ knew Geri was seeing someone." She cast a quick glance at Erik, letting him know that she knew the score.

"Right," Erik nodded and coughed slightly. "Yes, well," he cleared his throat. "So Evelyn gave it to Jemma, but Jezza intercepted it and gave it to Fitz, and then Jemma found it anyway and tried it on. Is that correct?"

Expressions around the table ranged from squinting to frowning to staring up at the ceiling in thought, but eventually everyone was nodding.

"So," Erik turned to Geri and breathed a nervous breath. "I suppose the question then becomes: why were you carrying that ring with you in your purse when you were going to a wedding?"

All eyes turned to Geri and six pairs of eyebrows raised up in expectation.

"I-" Geri looked from person to person, finally hovering her gaze between her son and her would-be fiance. "I... _always_... carry it?" she said hesitantly.

"You do?" Erik asked softly, rather surprised.

Fitz looked from his mother to Erik and saw how they were looking at each other. He'd never seen his mother look so unsure of anything before, and it was strangely unsettling. But then he looked at Erik, and he seemed more sure than anyone Fitz had ever seen before.

"You know, mum," Fitz suggested, his tone purposefully light. "You wouldn't lose it like that if you were wearing it."


	36. Chapter 36

_six months later..._

Emma balanced the various letters and adverts from the post box on top of the parcel containing the mock up her latest text book. Slinging her laptop bag more securely onto her shoulder and catching her coffee cup between her teeth, she managed to fit her key into the lock and open the front door. Turning the handle, however, upset the precarious tower she had in her other hand and rained stationery onto the floor at her feet.

"Oh, bother," she sighed resignedly. Placing her coffee, keys, and parcel on the little table next to the door, she slid her computer off her shoulder and dropped it on the floor before stooping down to gather up all of the mail.

"That you dear?" Jezza called from the kitchen. He wandered into the doorway, holding a wooden spoon laden with tomato sauce and wearing his favourite gingham apron. "I wasn't expecting you for another half hour," he said, obviously pleased.

"Mmhmm," Emma nodded distractedly. She was staring at a colourful piece of card that she hadn't noticed in amongst the circulars and bills.

"Care to taste this?" Jezza asked, gesturing with the spoon and then wandering back into the kitchen. "I think it needs more salt, but at my age I feel like I should at least pretend to care about my blood pressure."

"That's nice, dear," Emma nodded, following him slowly.

"Emma?" Jezza asked, turning to see his wife sit down squarely on his knitting.

"Ow!" Emma jumped up from the chair she'd just dropped down on. "Jezza!"

"If you _would_ be careful," Jezza said patiently. Dropping his spoon back in the sauce, he moved over to wrap his wife in his arms and give her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry, love," he apologized.

Emma smiled back. "My fault," she said, running her hands across his soft sweater. "I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing."

"You?" Jezza teased, squeezing her. "Never!"

"Shut it, you," Emma laughed. "And take a look at this!" She held up the card for his inspection.

"Well what do you know," Jezza said, amazed. "They're _actually_ doing it."

* * *

"Has your copy of _Science_ arrived yet?" Jemma asked from Fitz's couch as he poured them drinks. She was busy sliding pizza onto plates and ripping off paper towels to use as napkins. "Mine's late again."

"Post's on the desk," Fitz said, coming in with a Coke in each hand. "I think I saw it in there when I brought it in."

"I swear," Jemma said as she got off the sofa to go look, "Shelly keeps stealing mine."

"Shelly's a court reporter, Jemma," Fitz chuckled. "I doubt she'd be stealing peer reviewed scientific journals from her neighbours."

"Yes, well," Jemma shrugged in a bit of a huff. "I've emailed their circulation department I don't know _how_ many times, and they insist the problem is on my end."

Fitz grinned at her and teased, "You know, if you just moved in here..."

Jemma laughed and shook her head. "My lease is good for another three months yet," she smiled. "Talk to me in July."

Fitz took his phone out of his pocket and started a new reminder. "Siri, remind me to ask Jemma to move in with me on the first of July at 6pm."

 _"Okay, I'll remind you,"_ said the electronic voice.

Jemma smirked and took out her own phone. "Siri, remind me to tell Fitz he's a smart arse on the first of July at 6:01pm."

_"Okay, I'll remind you."_

Fitz laughed. "Siri, remind me to tell Jemma that she loves me on the first of July at 6:02pm."

" _Okay, I'll remind you."_

"Someone's feeling confident," Jemma grinned at him.

"Well, I mean," Fitz shrugged. "I'm assuming things aren't going to change _that_ much in the next few months."

Jemma laughed. "Fair point," she admitted. "I mean-" she cut off, her smile turning to suprise as she noticed a card stuck in between the pages of _Science._ "Have you seen this?" she asked, holding it out to him.

Fitz moved over to where she was standing and took the card from her. His smile softened and he looked very satisfied. "Good," he said firmly. Then, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. "Hopefully this one'll be less confusing than the last," he joked.

"It couldn't be much _more_ ," Jemma agreed, kissing him back.

* * *

Evelyn tapped her chin thoughtfully with the card she'd received in the mail. A whole roomful of younger Nordic men. She smiled and reached for a pen to fill out her reply.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end! THANK YOU SO MUCH to all of you who have been reading along, whether it be from the start of this craziness or long after it's been completed. This was the most fun I've ever had writing _anything_ , and I'm just so glad that you could share that with me. See you in the next fic!


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